Now or Never
by cuteness
Summary: Continuation from before. We hope you still like. New chapter included.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone!! Okay so as you know we are gutted about losing this, and most of all our reviews, so here it is again.**

**Disclaimer: We do not own the characters in this fic, however we do own the plot. Anything written is purely fictional and from our imaginations.**

The cast looked gob smacked and nobody could find the right words to say.  
The first person who pulled Kelly into a hug was Melinda Clarke saying "wow  
that was...a surprise, congratulations, Kel".  
Kelly smiled and thanked her.  
After that the other ones slowly made their way over to Kelly and hugged her  
one by one, saying their congrats and how happy they were for her.  
Everyone except for Peter Gallagher.

Peter still stood on the exact same spot, not believing what she just said.  
Engaged. To...Dan.. who? He couldn't even remember his name. His world stood  
still. He didn't say anything when he heard the others excuse themselves and   
leaving in different directions. Now he stood there in an empty room . Empty  
except for the beautiful women standing in front of him and looking  
concerned.

Kelly didn't know what to say. She was glad that everyone took the news so  
well. In fact she was happy like over the moon happy but she couldn't help  
but wonder why Peter hadn't said anything. He just stood there like he  
hadn't heard what she just announced. She carefully took a few steps   
towards him and asked "Peter?".

God, I'm standing here like an idiot, he thought to himself. Say something   
Peter, don't embarrass yourself. "Congrats Kel" he said pulling her into a  
hug.  
"Uhm thank you, everything okay?" she asked a little shocked about the  
sudden change of his behaviour but enjoying the nice gesture.  
"Sure" he answered and pulled away from their hug with, he had to admit,   
slight disappointment.  
"Okay.. what do you say? We take a coffee and catch up? You know we didn't  
talk much during the holidays and I..." she started but was interrupted by a   
nervous-looking Peter "Uhm..you know what? I'd love to but I can't I have to  
read over some lines because i haven't had time yet, but maybe later or...uh  
tomorrow. See you later on set and congratulations again, that's great for  
you and...Daniel" he said and hurried out of the room before Kelly could say  
anything else.

David. His name is David, Kelly thought.  
Kelly wondered what was wrong with him. She thought they were friends. They   
always had great chemistry and were on the same page, or at least she  
thought they were.  
Slightly disappointed, Kelly made her way back to the others to talk and  
catch up, still wondering what had gotten into Peter.

Peter made his way as quickly as he could to his dressing room and locked  
the door after him before placing himself on one of the sofas.  
He put a hand to his forehead and sighed. Kelly is engaged. Kelly. The  
heartbreaking beautiful, humorous, gorgeous, intelligent and  
adorable..Kel...my colleague, he reminded himself. Nothing more. I work with  
her. We are friends. That's it ,Peter. You are married. To Paula. You have   
children you love. And Kelly is engaged. To... Da..whoever. She is happy.  
You should be happy. Be happy, Peter. "But why am i not?" he whispered to  
himself and closed his eyes once again.

"I am so happy for you, I bet it's gonna be awesome" Rachel said exciting,  
hugging Kelly for the millionth time that day.  
"I hope so" Kelly smiled and tipped Melinda, who was just staring into space  
on the shoulder "Mindy?".  
Melinda turned around and smiled "huh?".  
"Can I talk to you for a second? Rachel would you excuse us for a moment?"   
Melinda nodded followed by Rachel and Kelly pulled Melinda with her into her  
dressing room.  
"So what do you wanna talk about?" Melinda asked a little confused because  
of Kelly's sudden need to talk.  
"I...sit down" she said and both women sat down on the sofa, facing each  
other.  
"You know about the engagement..." Kelly started and Melinda interrupted   
"Yea that was...surprising" . Kelly rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend  
"I know i never thought I'd ever marry at all. But you know...everyone  
seemed to take it...okay right?" she asked Mindy who quickly answered "you  
kidding me? Haven't you seen Rachel fussing around and talking about nothing   
but your wedding?". Kelly smiled and nodded "yes but...do you think  
that..Peter ..isn't happy? or that he just..you know maybe it isn't as  
important for him as I thought i just thought we were friends...".  
Melinda once again interrupted "why what did he say again? I can't remember  
when he came over and congratulated you".  
"That's my point exactly. He just stood there. I thought he'd say something.   
Anything. But he just waited until you all left, gave me a quick hug and  
then quickly found an excuse to turn my coffee invitation down and then he  
left" Kelly explained looking slightly sad. Melinda gave her a friendly  
smile and said "come on Kel, he's just busy, you've been friends for...4,  
almost 5 years now, he is happy for you!".

After the conversation with Melinda, Kelly felt better but she still could  
feel the tension between Peter and her on set. Usually were "couple-scenes"   
not a problem for the two of them. They had fun filming together, always  
laughing together and everything seemed so carefree to Kelly. But not today.  
Peter didn't even look at her properly. He just said his lines like he'd say  
"Dinner's ready" instead of "I love you". She always admired his   
professionalism, but today was an exception.  
Kelly didn't know what she did that made him upset or mad and she didn't  
think talking to him would make it any better. At least not today. Maybe   
Melinda was right, he was just busy.

After a long day at work Kelly finally made her way over to her car when she  
saw Peter next to it, waiting for her "Hey" he said when she approached him.  
"hi".  
"Just wanted to say, sorry about the coffee-date today, i totally forgot  
that we..." Peter started but Kelly interrupted him "we do this every year   
Peter".  
"Uhmmm right um i just wanted to say sorry and maybe we could just  
reschedule that and meet tomorrow or whenever you can" he said and gave her  
the smile she had missed so much over the holidays. She returned his smile  
and said "okay, see you tomorrow". She then opened the car, placed herself  
behind the wheel and drove off, finally smiling again.

When she arrived at her "new home" she heard nothing more than silence.  
"David?" she called out and heard something that sounded like an "uh huh".  
She followed the noise into the kitchen where she saw her new fiancé sitting  
on a kitchen stool and reading a magazine.  
"Hi" she said cheerily and made her way over to him. When she tried to kiss  
his cheek he slightly pushed her away and motioned to his magazine "good  
evening darling".  
She just shook her head when he looked back down "how was your day" she  
asked when she made her way over to the fridge. When she didn't get an   
answer she asked again "David?".  
He looked up for a second then looked back down "uh huh".  
"I asked how your day was" she repeated, while she pulled a bottle of milk   
out of the fridge.  
"Good. I met with some new investors and it seems like they are really  
interested in supporting the channel" he said still not looking up from the  
precious magazine of his.  
"That sounds good" she said opening the bottle and taking a slip. It was  
then when David looked up, a disgusted look plastered across his face "Kelly  
could you please...just use a glass like normal people" he said standing up  
and taking the bottle from her. Kelly wiped her mouth and quietly said  
"sorry".  
When he handed her a glass she said "soo you didn't ask me how it went today  
, i told you last night i was going to tell everyone about the good news"   
she smiled and watched him sitting back down and continuing to read "Uh huh"  
he said again in the exact same tone as before.  
"Wow don't sound too enthusiastic about it" she said and turned around,  
closing the bottle and putting it back into the fridge.  
"Sorry darling i have a lot of work to do" he said still not looking at her.  
"Yea i can tell, reading that football magazine looks like hard work David"  
Kelly said a little annoyed because of his behaviour.  
"Yes it is work, you know that my work includes reading magazines and  
watching TV, I have to know what's new in the press and media" he said   
looking at her.  
"Okay then i don't want to disturb you any longer, where are the little  
ones, by the way?" she asked one last question.  
"Bed" he said shortly before standing up and walking into the living-room to  
make a call. Private. As usual.  
Kelly sighed "Thanks honey, i had a good day, too, and yes everyone said  
they were happy for us" she whispered to herself and made her way upstairs  
to go to bed. Alone. Again. But this time she didn't care anymore. She could  
say she was almost used to it.

That night Peter couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned around in bed, only  
thinking about one person. Kelly. He didn't know what was wrong with him.  
They were friends and he wished he could be happy for her as a friend would  
usually be for another. But he couldn't not even when he was lying in bed,   
next to his wife and staring at an old family picture. He knew he loved his  
family more than anything but he also knew that he couldn't get the events  
of today out of his had, neither could he ban that beautiful face out of his  
head... 


	2. Chapter 2

Kelly woke up the next morning to find the other half of the bed empty,  
actually already made. It looked as though there wasn't even supposed to  
have been somebody lying next to her. Yawning slowly she climbed out of bed

and headed for a shower. She was due on set for filming that afternoon so   
she had to leave for LA in a couple hours so maybe if she got ready now her  
and David could have breakfast together.   
"Morning" she chimed as she left the bottom step and saw her fiancé standing  
in the kitchen. She walked over and was glad when he allowed her to kiss his  
cheek.  
"yeah" he said solemnly as he turned away from her abandoning any contact.  
"You're up early" she tried to begin a conversation.  
"Uh huh" he poured the last of the coffee into his mug, "we're out of coffee  
by the way" he said matter-of-factly as he picked up his breakfast that he  
made and headed outside to eat it.

"Brilliant" she answered him sarcastically as she once again watched his  
back as he walked away from her. I didn't want any breakfast with you anyway  
but thanks for offering, she thought angrily. What was wrong with him,  
usually he would at least make enough food for the both of them.  
Peter awoke the next morning still very sleepy from being kept awake by his  
thoughts the night before. When he turned around he was met by the sight of  
his still sleeping wife. Quietly he slipped out of bed and wandered  
downstairs. After getting some coffee he sat looking at the ocean, his  
thoughts still only on one person. He felt like his brain just couldn't  
absorb the information that she was engaged. It didn't particularly want to.  
It was such a shock to the system. Being honest Peter always loved the fact  
that, regardless that it was for work purposes; he was the only man that got  
to kiss Kelly like that. It was wrong for him to be thinking these things as  
a married man and he knew that, but it was uncontrollable to him, the more  
he tried not to think about it the more he did. After an hour or so fighting  
with his conscience he retired to the shower to get ready for his early  
start at work. "David!"  
"What now?"  
"The baby is crying" Kelly informed him.  
"So make him stop" was his helpful reply as she watched him return his  
attention to his newspaper.  
Kelly didn't want to argue so she gave in. Cautiously picking up the  
screaming wee boy Kelly attempted to sooth his sobs. Unfortunately

unsuccessful. He just got increasingly loud.  
"Oh for goodness sakes Kelly! shut him up." David shouted at her.  
"I can't!" She yelled back irritated with him.  
"It can't be that difficult just jiggle him about or something" then David  
got back to his paper.   
Kelly carefully manoeuvred the unhappy wee boy so that he had his head next  
to her shoulder and sat upright as she began bouncing him up and down whilst  
a hushing sound escaped her lips. "I'm rubbish with babies," she thought to  
herself "there is a reason why I don't want kids of my own" she said  
frustrated at her current situation.  
The sobs quietened slightly so Kelly increased the pace of the bouncing  
hoping that he was ready to stop. Just as she thought she had succeeded and  
felt triumphant she saw a liquid dribble out of his mouth and right down the  
shoulder of her top.  
"OH NO! You have got to be kidding me!" she moaned as she moved his head  
away from her clothes holding his back to her stomach as he hovered in her   
arm. "So disgusting"  
"David! He spat up everywhere!"

"Oh for crying out loud clean him up then" was again the helpful response  
she received.  
That did it. Now she was really pissed off.  
"NO! I'm sure that's what you've got a nanny for." She said as she made her  
way outside to where David sat in the chair.  
Kelly waited until her decided to put his paper down and look at her.  
"She's not here" he shrugged shoulders and again turned back to the morning  
paper.  
"Well then you know what?" she waited for a response which she failed to  
get, "he's your son so you deal with it!"  
She took the baby in both her hands and didn't give David an option as she  
placed him down on his father's knee crushing the newspaper in the process.  
Only then did she turn around and storm away to change her own outfit. When  
she returned downstairs wither back ready to leave she knew she was going to  
be late.  
"I have to go" she shouted from her position at the front door.   
David came walking towards her as she put on her jacket.   
"You can't leave it like this. I could forget about what just happened if  
you give me a nice goodbye kiss." He claimed slyly, knowing too well that  
she would go for it.  
Kelly was an idiot for him; she slowly walked over to him as she smiled glad  
that they were going to part on good terms. David was a difficult man and if  
something as small as a kiss would have them back to normal then great. When  
she reached him she leaned in and caught his lips in hers. His hand's never  
left his side as hers were on his chest. He didn't open his mouth or make  
any effort in the kiss; instead he just let her decide when enough was  
enough.  
Kelly pulled away slightly disappointed with the kiss. She had shared much  
better kisses with David before, especially when they first began dating.  
Now however it wasn't nearly as enjoyable. They weird part was he did seem  
to think that what they had just shared was enjoyable and it satisfied him.  
Would she be subdued to pathetic kisses like that for the rest of her life  
now? She wanted her kisses to be passionate, like everyone her and Peter had  
ever had on set.

"Peter, "Kelly thought to herself, "now that man can kiss."  
Kelly hadn't arrived to the set yet which struck Peter as weird and unlike  
her. Kelly was never late, always the prompt one. They stood around in the  
Cohen's kitchen awaiting her arrival so they could shoot a Sandy/Kirsten  
scene. Everyone stood laughing and joking with each other when she  
discretely walked through the door. Peter of course noticed her. Her   
sapphire blue eyes and her fresh blonde hair noticeable among all others. He  
slipped away from the commotion and appeared by her side.  
"Hey, everything ok?" he asked genuinely.  
"Oh yeah its fine, I'm so sorry I'm late. I have had one hell of a  
morning..."she stopped herself from going any further as she rubbed her  
forehead with her hand while she sighed deeply.  
Peter placed a sympathetic arm on her back and rubbed gently. She at first  
tensed under the contact but soon relaxed as his hand gently glided up and  
down her back.  
"Well we have to film just now but how about we grab that coffee

afterwards?" he asked quietly.  
Kelly nodded as him as he kept his hand placed firmly on her back and guided  
her to where she was needed.  
Peter stood on front of Kelly as they prepared to shoot their scene. They  
had shot many scenes of this type before but this time something felt  
different to both of them but neither could pin point what it was. Kelly  
rested her back on the kitchen unit behind her and Peter's hands found their  
way easily to her hips.  
"And action!"  
Kelly's hand rose to Peter's shoulders as he reached his head closer until  
he grabbed her lips with his own. The kiss was to show the severe passion  
and lust in Sandy and Kirsten's relationship they had been told, and so far  
it was a job being well done. Peter used his tongue to ask Kelly to open her  
mouth and allow him in. As she clasped her hands behind his neck Kelly  
opened her mouth slowly allowing Peter's tongue to enter her mouth.  
"Oh God she feels so good" Peter thought to himself. "I wonder if she  
kisses, that man, umm Daniel like this. Does he get to feel her lips between  
his like this and if he so does he appreciate it the way I do?" Peter  
slipped his arms around her back as he gently played with the hem of her  
top.  
"Hmmm" Kelly moaned playing the part. Well at least everyone would think it  
was for the effect of filming. She felt Peter's tongue seek entrance to her  
mouth. "Oh he tastes so good" was the thought running through her head "I  
wish every kiss was like this one". Any remainder of her bad mood was now  
forgotten about as her knees went weak and she was under his power.  
Normally in filming tongues weren't used, however it was no secret that  
Kelly and Peter used theirs sometimes. Only thing being that their tongues  
were allowed into the other's mouth but not to meet each other. This time  
however when Kelly granted Peter's tongue in she couldn't help herself and  
pressed her tongue against his. By the time he realised what she had done  
Peter was quite happily co-operating with it so she decided just to enjoy.  
She felt Peter's hands on her sides as he lifted her up momentarily breaking  
their kiss, as he sat her on the kitchen work top. They kept eye contact  
with each other while doing so as their heads began a path to each other's  
lips again to continue the scene.  
"Cut!" Came the director's voice.  
"NO!" Both Kelly and Peter screamed out in their heads.  
Peter took a step back and away from her, before he held out his hand and  
gentlemanly helped her get back down from the unit.  
"You guys can have a break now"  
"What we don't have to do it again?" Peter asked quite shocked.  
"No that was pretty perfect" was the only answer they got.  
Peter gave the director that understanding nod that he does so well, as he  
turned to Kelly and mouthed the word "Coffee?" while raising his eyebrows.  
They went to the cafe and grabbed some coffee before taking a table out in  
the sun. Peter let Kelly take a seat first and then placed himself directly  
opposite. "So..." Peter broke the silence "that was weird only having to do one take"  
"Yeah I guess" Kelly said the hint of disappointment detectable to him. "I  
guess we just made it look incredible"  
Not made it look...Peter thought to himself, it was incredible.  
He just stifled a laugh and smiled at her as another silence fell for him to  
break.  
"So, Kel, this fiancé of yours, tell me about him." Peter was trying his  
best to be supportive.  
"Well he's a fellow Canadian and his name's David Tho" She started.

"WOW! Wait a minute, the David? Like the really rich media  
typhoon?"  
Kelly nodded nervously.  
What the hell does she see in him? Peter thought to himself. She can't be  
after his money, Kelly is anything but a gold-digger, but he's not exactly  
the catch of the century, and I mean look at her! She's so stunningly  
beautiful! That was a bit of a shocker!  
"Peter?" she broke his thought train.  
"Huh? What?"  
"You okay?" She asked wondering why he had gone so quiet all of a sudden.  
"Yeah I'm fine sorry just got lost in thought." He smiled. "He must be about  
ages with me huh?"  
"Yeah he's around your age." She answered quietly.  
Well at least I know I wouldn't be too old for her. Peter once again thought  
to himself.  
"Do you love him?"  
Kelly hesitated. "I wouldn't have accepted his proposal otherwise."  
"You don't sound so sure." Peter pressed.  
"What's with all the questions?" She said in a semi-serious tone.  
"I'm sorry; I just want to make sure you are happy. That's all I care  
about." He said softly stroking her hand lightly and hoping she didn't mind.  
Her face softened. "I love David, I do, that goes without saying, but..."   
she paused unsure whether she should continue or not.  
"But?" Peter gently prompted her to continue.  
"But it's like; I don't know it's a different kind of love. It's no, ummm,  
it's not like Sandy and Kirsten for example. It's not uncontrollable lust or  
passion for each other where we share everything and it's not built on a  
physical relationship it's just oh I don't know, contentment.  
She saw Peter about to interrupt when she motioned with her hand to let her  
finish first.  
"Look at me Peter; I'm almost forty and not looking any younger. If I wait  
much longer then I am going to end up alone and I don't want that. David  
brings me comfort and security and at least I know I have someone to go home  
to." She spoke in a slightly sad tone which Peter didn't like.  
"Oh Kel, you should have that physical and passionate relationship though,  
you shouldn't settle for second best. You're too wonderful for that." Again he took her hand and gently squeezed it. Thinking to himself that he  
could give her the relationship that she craved so much.  
"I'm not unhappy Peter; I just feel sometimes that I put more into the  
relationship than him, that maybe I'm there more out of convenience than  
anything else."  
"Well how do you mean?"

"Well just little things like, if I we are gonna see each other I am to go  
to him, he wouldn't come here, or this morning when the baby was crying he  
just expected me to deal with it because the nanny wasn't there. It's not  
that I mind I mean I will be the step-mum but he should have done it  
himself."  
"He has kids?"  
"Ummm yeah, two teenage daughter and a baby boy." Peter just nodded his head  
slightly.  
"What?"  
"Nothing, I just..." Think you should leave him and find someone who is  
going to love you the way you deserve he thought "umm look, if you are  
happy, then I am happy for you. You know that right." He questioned.  
"Yeah" she nodded her head "but?"  
"But if Dan, uh I mean David doesn't appreciate you for who you are then  
he's an idiot. He could quite possibly be the luckiest man in the world and  
I really hope he doesn't hurt you." It came out before what really thought  
about what he was saying.  
Kelly just looked at him. She was so desperate to just grab him and kiss  
him. Oh why can't I have someone as wonderful as you Peter? She asked  
herself silently. Or better yet why can't I have you? Oh yeah, you're  
married.   
"If he hurts you he'll have me to deal with" Peter added while laughing just

to lighten the mood a little.

"Oh is that so?" she laughed back. "Tough guy huh?" 

"Yeah" he answered as they just laughed.

Kelly's phone broke their moment as the shrill ring came from her bag.  
"Hello." She answered in her typically polite tone as Peter settled back in  
his chair and watched her.  
"Oh hey!" she said chirpier.  
Peter sat there wondering who it was. He watched as she sat back and held  
the speaker next to her mouth. Oh she was so beautiful. He couldn't name  
another woman who took his breath away like she did with just the simplest  
of looks. Like that smile she just flashed him that made his mouth water.  
"Oh Peter stop it!" he scolded himself quietly, "she's engaged and you are  
married". 

"Really? You are?" She smiled widely. "That's great! Yeah I can't wait   
either. Okay ..." she was about to say goodbye when she realised he had  
already hung up.  
Peter stayed quiet until she put her phone away and settled back into her  
seat before he asked the question that she knew was coming.   
"Who was that?"  
Kelly tried not to laugh at his bluntness "it was David" she said.  
"Oh." Peter felt quite disappointed at how happy she sounded while talking   
to him, but he couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.

"I think I should take back what I said about his lack of effort" she said  
feel momentarily guilty, "he said he's coming down here to visit at the  
weekend."  
Peter thought his head was about to explode. Shit! He thought. It was hard  
enough to pretend to Kelly that he was okay with it but to have to face the  
guy in person. One thing was for sure he was going to be keeping watch and  
make sure he was nice to Kelly. Peter just wanted to scream out loud.  
Oh dear Kelly thought as soon as she finished her sentence. Please let him  
be okay with this. How awkward this could turn out. The man I am with and  
the man I want to be with becoming acquainted. Shit! She thought.  
"Well I can't wait to meet him" Peter lied through his teeth.   
"Really?"  
NO! His head was screaming as all he could force was a nod in return. 


	3. Chapter 3

After their coffee date , Peter and Kelly went back to work and after a long  
and exhausting day, Kelly finally made her way home, being tired but happy.  
Happy because her fiancé finally made some effort to make their  
relationship work even if there was a distance between the two of them  
while Kelly worked for the O.C.  
Her day was great, well...it started like... she wouldn't put it as  
'nightmare' but... okay fine it was a nightmare, but Peter managed to cheer  
her up and the rest of the day was pretty uneventful and it was great to be  
around Peter again, he always had the ability to make her laugh even in the  
worst of moods.  
He is special, Kelly thought and smiled slightly when she put her keys down  
and put her jacket on the hanger.  
DAVID, David is special, she corrected herself, shaking her head slightly.  
He's visiting tomorrow and maybe we'll have a little more time for each   
other than the past few days.  
When she placed herself on the couch and kept daydreaming about her  
soon-to-be-husband and how happy she was that he finally took some action  
and that he really missed her, her cell started to ring.  
Groaning she got up and walked over into the kitchen where she found her  
cell and pushed the green button.  
"Rowan" she said politely even if she could've sighed out loud for the  
interruption. Why can't she just enjoy her evening without any  
interruption?  
"Hey darling" she heard and the edges of her mouth curled up into a smile  
"hi honey".  
"Well...you know i said i was going to visit...tomorrow" he said and Kelly  
interrupted, still grinning widely "Yes I'm really looking forward to seeing   
you. I miss you".  
She expected to hear him say that he missed her too and that he was happy  
to finally be with her but instead she heard him sighing.  
"Well that's what i wanted to talk to you about..." he started and when  
he didn't get an answer he continued. At some point Kelly stopped paying  
attention. She was hurt. Thank god he couldn't see the hot tear that made  
its way down her cheek.  
"Kel?" he said after a while when she didn't answer him.  
"well see you...next week" she said coldly and hung up. She really hadn't  
the nerve to talk to him right now. She told the whole cast he was going to  
visit and everyone was curious about him. 'Everyone was supposed to meet  
him tomorrow. And now... he just said he can't come. He doesn't even care   
how i am feeling. He just said, sorry I'm visiting some day next week',  
Kelly thought wiping her cheek dry. It wasn't that she was just sad, she  
was truly angry with him. She just thought he'd care about seeing her, just  
as much as she did. Big mistake, Mrs. soon-to-be-Thompson.  
"Okay you guys she'll be here any second, is everything ready?" Melinda  
said and Ben and Adam nodded "Yup, we got the drinks, the decoration and  
well everyone's here so all that's missing is Kel...and David of course"   
said Ben smiling.  
"His name is David?" Peter spoke up for the first time that morning, his  
tone one of surprise.  
Melinda hid her giggle when she said "uh huh".  
Peter slightly blushed . Whoooops. You are a good friend, you don't even  
remember your friend's fiancé's name, great Peter, he thought to himself.  
Melinda once again spoke "okay everyone takes his or her position and when  
they come in we'll yell 'surprise', as we planned it , all right guys?".   
Everyone nodded and did as they were told.  
Peter took his position and waited. He stood there almost every morning  
waiting anxiously for Kelly to arrive. But not today. She couldn't be too   
far away from work, in Peter's eyes. But not because of her. Because of her  
wonderful company. Daniel. Uh David, he thought and starred at the door,  
when he saw it being opened.  
Kelly parked in front of the building and got out of her car. She wished   
she could've stayed home today. What was she going to say? Oh sorry my  
fiancé isn't here. Why? Oh, obviously he isn't as interested in getting to  
know my friends as i thought, sorry guys, Kelly thought shaking her head.  
When she reached the door she took one last deep breath and opened it.  
"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled everyone and Kelly just stood  
there, stunned.  
She smiled when she realised why everyone was standing there and she saw  
the sweet decoration. A party. For her. And David. Who was...unfortunately  
not with her.  
Kelly looked down and sighed, quite embarrassed by the fact that everyone  
made such an effort for David and her and he didn't even show up to say  
thanks.  
Once again she felt tears prickling in her eyes when she looked back at her  
friend's faces, but instead of showing her feelings she forced a smile "Hey   
guys!".

Peter's heart stopped beating for a second when he saw that it was Kelly  
opening the door. In a few seconds he'd see the luckiest man alive. Or not?  
he thought, confused, when he noticed that she was alone. She smiled and he  
had to smile in return, she was happy about the surprise. But still: where  
was this guy? Waiting in the parking lot? When Peter had finished his   
thought he saw Kelly's expression change and he watched her looking down,  
suddenly not looking happy at all.

"Hey Kel, where is your prince charming" Melinda said when she came over to Kelly and hugged her tight.  
'Fantastic' Kelly thought when she pulled away to be able to look at the  
other one's faces "He... his private plane wasn't ready. There was a   
misunderstanding you know..." Kelly lied too embarrassed and hurt to say  
the truth: That he just had to deal with some important business crap .  
"He's going to visit some day next week" she finished and forced another  
smile. The cast nodded understanding and everyone bought the lie and her  
fake-smile. Everyone but Peter. He had silently watched the scene and now  
made his way over to her, seeing she was getting uncomfortable "Well Kel,  
then we'll meet him next week. We can't wait" he said and smiled at her  
warmly.  
She sighed relived as Peter helped her out and smiled in return "Yea...but  
still Thank you so much" she said looking around "Everything looks   
great…amazing, that will make my day so much better".  
Rachel giggled and said "maybe Kirsten needs HER prince charming.." and  
motioned to Peter who blushed slightly when Kelly said, joking back  
"maybe". And it was true. Maybe she really, uh Kirsten, needed Peter right  
now, or Sandy, god I'm confused, she thought. Is this wrong? Being with  
someone, even almost married to someone but be attracted to another man? Is  
this wrong? Or just weird? Is it allowed? Kelly thought for a moment. She   
didn't know why but Peter just made her happy, especially when she needed a  
good distraction- he was the perfect man.  
"Well you two, there i can help, i have two family-scenes planned for today   
and a Kirsten-Sandy-one. So back to work you guys" Josh said after he  
kissed Kelly's cheek instead of saying 'hello'.  
The cast laughed and they did as they were told.  
Even if Kelly had great friends around that really helped her forgetting  
about David, she couldn't help but needing some minutes to herself   
"I...I'll be ready in a few mins" she said and made her way to her dressing  
room.  
Josh, Ben, Rachel, Melinda and co just nodded a little hesitating and went  
back to the set to film a scene that didn't involve Kelly or Peter.  
Peter knew that something was bothering her so he made his way to Kel's  
dressing room and knocked slightly on the door. When she invited him in he   
opened the door and saw her sitting on the couch, looking down to the  
floor. He silently placed himself beside her and rubbed her back  
"Everything okay?".  
Kelly wanted to say yes but then she thought about it, why lying to him? We  
are friends. Good friends. I trust him and i can talk to him about  
everything. She shook her head and said "I lied".  
Peter tried to lighten the mood and said "Yea i know you are a bad liar,  
what was it this time". Kelly giggled softly but quickly turned serious   
again "David didn't have any problems with his jet because it wasn't ready.  
He just has some business stuff he wants to do".  
Such an idiot, Peter thought and felt himself getting angry. He doesn't  
know how lucky he is to have her. And now he is upsetting her.  
Peter took her hand and Kelly smiled up at him, when he said "Oh Kel he  
doesn't know what he is missing here. Please don't be upset because of the  
guy, I bet he didn't mean to make you sad. Well forget about Da...vid and  
Let's make out" he said laughing, referring to the scene they were told to   
film.  
Kelly laughed and punched him on the arm "uh huh" she said and without even  
thinking about it, she leaned over and brushed her lips slightly over his  
before pulling away.  
Peter laughed but thought his heart stopped beating for a second when he   
saw her leaning in and kissing his lips. Just for a second but she really  
did it. Peter didn't want to be embarrassed and give her the feeling that  
what she did was amazing beyond words so he giggled along with her and said  
"I was talking about the scene".  
Kelly stopped giggling and played serious for a second while she got up "so  
was I" she said and when she turned around she gave him a wide smile and  
turned back around, opened the door and left Peter sitting there, not  
believing what just happened.

When they filmed the Kirsten/Sandy-scene Peter couldn't have been happier  
and feeling awkward all in once more than he did then. He was glad that they  
had the scene because he loved kissing those sweet lips but on the other  
hand he couldn't believe that Kelly really kissed him. Okay not a real KISS  
but he really felt her lips against his. And it wasn't a Sandy and  
Kirsten-moment. No. The first Peter and Kelly moment they had ever shared.  
After Kelly had left the room she slightly blushed because of her behaviour  
in the dressing-room. When she kissed Peter it was more like something she  
thought about and her body did without permission. But she couldn't deny  
that her stomach flipped over when she felt his soft lips against her  
smaller ones.  
It was perfect even if he thought it was just because she wanted to make a  
joke, she thought smiling. It was well worth it.  
Later when they filmed the Kirsten/Sandy-scene Kelly could feel that Peter  
was a little nervous but his kisses were still as incredible as before.  
They always took it a little further than needed on set and she didn't  
regret a second of it- she loved their playful manner. Peter literately  
made her knees go week and he was the man she wanted to think about right  
then, not the one that had disappointed her so badly only a few hours ago.

After work the whole cast had dinner together and laughed away about Josh  
"Did you see his hair today?" said Adam and Peter punched him on the arm  
"hey what's so bad about his hair?".  
"Oh my god, this unruly mop of black hair- totally stylish- you are right,  
Pete" said Adam which earned him another slap from Peter and everyone else  
laughed.  
"Don't worry Peter, you are allowed to wear your hear like this" said Kelly  
and flashed him a smile over the table which he returned "Ha! Thanks Kel and  
you other guys, you just don't know what's ALL MAN" Peter said proudly and  
the other ones rolled their eyes, giggling.  
The rest of the evening went quite amusing and everyone enjoyed a delicious  
meal before they finally went back to their cars together and said their  
good-byes.  
When Peter walked Kelly to her car a few minutes later, because they wanted  
to have a drink together, her cell started to ring.  
She excused herself, again not being happy about the interruption. Can't she  
just live in peace for one evening?  
She pushed the green button and answered, this time not politely at all, her  
cell "Hello?".  
When she didn't get an answer immediately she got slightly annoyed. She just   
wanted to have a drink with Peter, laugh at his jokes and forget that  
yesterday ever happened.  
After a moment, just when she was about to hang up she heard a voice, not  
more than a whisper say "Hey darling".  
Kelly just shook her head. How dared he to just call her like nothing  
happened.  
"Hello" she just answered.  
"Ohh baby come on, don't say you are still mad at me" David said and Kelly  
could've screamed at him for saying 'still', but she didn't want Peter to  
make out that they were, once again, fighting.  
"Still?" she said and laughed slightly.  
"Okay I'm sorry but you know what? Do you wanna know where I just arrived?"  
David said and hoped Kelly would show a sign of interest "Actually no" was  
her simple answer.  
"Ohh Baby come on, I'll tell you anyway: I'm waiting for you" he said and  
Kelly's eyes widened "EXCUSE ME? DO YOU WANNA SAY THAT YOU EXPECT ME TO COME  
TO CANADA TO SEE YOU????"  
After she said it , a little too loud, she turned to Peter and mouthed a   
sorry but he just waved a hand to say "no problem".  
"Kelly relax, I didn't mean it that way, I'm here – to see you" he said and  
Kelly sighed "what do you mean?".  
"I'm here, in your apartment, I used the second key, hope you don't mind,   
darling" said David and Kelly suddenly smiled "you really came? I thought  
you can't come!" replied Kelly a little confused.  
Peter stood there and couldn't believe what he just heard. Damn this guy  
always knew what buttons to push with her and she always fell for it. How he  
wished he could just tell her she is stupid for loving this guy.

"I'll be right there. Love you, David" she said smiling and hung up before  
turning around to see Peter, who looked a little uncomfortable.  
"I…I'm sorry but.." she started but Peter interrupted "It's fine. I'm glad  
you are happy. See you tomorrow" said he but Kelly felt bad for leaving him  
so suddenly "Sorry about the drink.." she tried to say again but Peter once  
again waved his hand "Go, have fun" he said smiling warmly. Kelly could've  
kissed him right then and there, she loved how supportive he always was  
"Thanks and about the drink…we'll do that some other day- definitely!" she  
said and took a step towards him. When she looked at those loving blue eyes,  
starring at her, she could almost forget that she was engaged and that her  
fiancé was waiting for her.

Peter had to swallow deeply when he felt her breath tickle his ear and she  
leaned in to brush her lips over his cheek. He once again felt this tension  
between them. Not just physically but emotionally as well. He lightly  
returned the kiss and they both pulled away and smiled at each other 'so she  
feels it too' Peter thought and turned around after saying "Night, Kel".

Kelly just stood there and didn't know what to say. She wasn't even able to  
return the statement.  
She watched his back while he walked away from her and she thought about if  
it was really worth leaving this man for David just because he "needed" her  
right now. She decided on NO it wasn't but she still turned around, knowing  
it was right this way even if she would've loved nothing more than calling  
after him to tell him she'd love a drink and that he is already a lot more  
important to her than he'd think.

When Kelly arrived at her apartment, still slightly disappointed she saw  
that there was light and her expression changed into a grin. "…someone to  
come home to" she remembered herself.  
She used her key to open the door and walked over to the couch, were David  
was seated. When she walked around the couch she saw how he was dressed "Wow  
look at you" she said smiling and kissed his cheek.  
He was dressed in a pretty expensive suit. He wants to go out with me, Kelly  
thought and smiled.  
"Darling, hello" he said, glad she forgot about their 'argument' last night.  
"I can't believe you really came" she said and placed herself next to him.  
"So I want to tell you something" he said and Kelly nodded.  
"I'm here…" he started and Kelly said "and…"  
"And… as you can see am dressed in a suit"  
"and…?" she said getting happier and happier each second.  
"and I have a important dinner planned" he said and Kelly smiled once again  
at him "and?" she said waiting for him to say where he wanted to go with  
her.  
"and I wanted to ask you if you could watch Leo" he said abruptly.

Kelly thought she misunderstood him. She couldn't say anything. Not even  
yelling at him was possible at this moment. She just looked at him in shock.  
Did he forget about the disaster that morning? Her watching the baby and HIM  
GOING OUT? Was that supposed to be her soon-to-be-life as a married women? A   
member of the 'desperate housewives'-club.  
"Kel?" asked David after a while.  
"Huh" she said still not being able to say anything else.  
"I have to go, so thank you, sweetheart and see you in the morning, could  
get a little late" he said, ''''kissed''''' her on the cheek and left after  
he got up and, took the baby with him and placed it on her lap.

Kelly sat there, Leo on her lap and still couldn't believe that David was   
serious.  
She could've cried and yelled all in once but decided it wouldn't make sense  
because she would just disturb the baby and make him cry.  
She leaned back on the couch and thought the day couldn't be much worse when  
the dummy Leo had been sucking at dropped from his mouth to the floor and he  
burst out crying loudly.  
"Oh my god" 


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone!!! Once again Jen and I would like to thank you for all your reviews! We have many plans for this fic and we are really enjoying writing it, so please keep them coming, they are our inspiration. Much love XXX**

**-**

Kelly just sat there with a howling baby on her knee. What the hell was she supposed to do? She didn't know.

"Shhhhh" she bounced him up and in what she thought was a soothing manner. Apparently not.

Leo just cried and cried. Maybe he…umm… needs changed, she thought to herself. No that wasn't it. What else? Food! Kelly got up off the sofa, carrying the baby and went to find his bag. David had seemed to have put all his stuff in her bedroom.

"It's ok baby, what's the matter?" She looked at him expectedly. "Uh he can't answer you, you idiot!" she told herself now getting frustrated.

She lay him on the bed only increasing the volume of his squealing. She desperately rummaged through his bag until she found the bottle. Hurriedly she ran out of the room towards the Kitchen. As quickly as she could she placed the bottle on the plate in the microwave and pressed the power on. She stood nervously tapping her foot as she watched it go round.

A noise startled her. What was it? She thought to herself.

"AH! BABY!!!!" Kelly raced back to the room quicker than she thought she could even move, heaving a sigh of relief when she saw him still laying safely on the bed where she had left him.

"Oh I'm sorry baby, come on" she tried to sound calm but didn't really succeed. Picking up the crying wee boy she wiped away his tears as she briskly headed back to the kitchen with him in her arms.

When she opened the microwave Kelly could have started to cry. The smell of burnt milk filled her nostrils as she took in the sight of the plastic bottle, now not so bottle shaped, melted all over her microwave. Kelly carried him over to place him in his play cot that was set up in the middle of the living room. She lay him down in it and offered him is dummy before walking back to the kitchen, from the layout of her apartment he was still visible to her.

Filling the sink with water she pulled the plate out of the microwave.

"AH SHIT!" she screamed as she burned her hand.

As Kelly washed the melted plastic off of the plate she felt so angry. Her head was throbbing from the horrendous sound Leo was making, he was certainly persistent. The more he cried and the louder he got, the more Kelly scrubbed. Her knuckles turning white from where she gripped the scrubber.

"Oh my God! Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet!" she cried as she headed back to the living room. "what am I gonna do?"

She once again picked him up and rocked him back and forth trying to calm his sobs. It again, failed to work.

"I need help" she muttered as she grabbed up the phone and punched in a number, that for some reason she knew by heart.

"Hello" His voice came when he answered.

"I need help" She simply stated.

"Kelly?" Peter sounded surprised. "Why? what's wrong?" he now just sounded concerned.

"Well, " she sighed thinking of how she was gonna explain that her so-called Fiancé had a night out and decided to dump his baby on her without asking. "David had a function tonight, and I offered to baby-sit, but I just can't seem to calm him down, he's been crying for ages." She stopped to take a breath but Peter interrupted her.

"And you thought that I have experience and could help you?" He asked hoping she wanted him to come around.

"Oh, something like that" she said as she sat down with Leo on her lap, still crying.

"Okay, so how can I help?"

"Well, are you busy?"

Peter just smiled to himself. "Not. At all, I'm just watching telly."

"I don't suppose you could come round? Apart from getting him to stop crying I could use the company" She gently wiped a tear off her cheek as she tried to sound her normal, chirpy self..

"Sure. I'll be there soon."

"Great, thanks!" And then she hung up.

My God look at the state of the place Kelly thought as she sat, in the same place still holding Leo on her lap. She had semi-blocked out the crying by now but it was still upsetting, that he was in such distress and she couldn't do anything to help him. She moved his position so that she held him upright on her shoulder as she smoothed his back with her hand. To her delight and surprise his distraught subsided as he calmed slightly. She pushed his dummy into his mouth and he only heaved a sigh every now and then as he was breathless from his endless wailing.

Just as she got him clam, the doorbell rang, shrilling through the flat, piercing the silence and restarting the baby's sobs.

"Hey" Peter smiled as she opened the door.

Kelly just smiled widely in return.

"I guess this is the unhappy little man" Peter said as he stroked Leo's cheek gently.

"I had just managed to calm him down and then you turned up and the doorbell startled him again." she joked slightly making him smile.

Kelly let Peter in and then watched as he sat on her couch, watching as she awkwardly swung him about.

"Well have you changed him?" Peter asked.

"I checked, he doesn't need it."

"Okay so maybe he's just hungry."

Kelly tried not to look shocked at herself as she remembered that she hadn't actually fed him cause she melted the bottle. Kelly nodded slightly as Peter walked towards her and lifted Leo from her grasp rocking him gently in his arms. Kelly stood there watching as the interaction as the wee boy actually silenced slightly.

"Kelly?"

"Hmmm?" She was snapped out of her daydream.

"The bottle?"

"Right, of course" feeling totally stupid she turned and headed to her bedroom hoping David had been smart enough to pack more than one bottle.

"Of course he did. He's not stupid" she told herself as she found another one.

When she entered the kitchen Peter was already there with a quiet baby.

"How did you manage to do that?" She asked clearly impressed.

"Oh I just spoke to him and jiggled him a bit"

"Uh huh" she said as she poured the milk into a mug and placed in it the microwave.

Once it was done she poured it back into the bottle and screwed the lid back on. Part of her was hoping that Peter would do it for her so that she didn't have to. No such luck, he walked over to her and handed him to her.

"You're probably better at this than me now" he chuckled.

Kelly wanted to cry, "umm… yeah, I…umm…I guess" She nodded awkwardly as she lifted the bottle and moved it straight towards Leo's mouth.

"Wow Kel, what are you doing?" He grabbed her arm gently as he prevented mouth and bottle meeting,. "You gotta check the temperature first."

Kelly sighed and looked down not sure what to do or say.

"If' it's too hot you could burn his mouth" Peter still sounded alarmed and slightly mad.

"Fine, you do it" she retorted as she pushed the baby into his arms and walked away running her fingers through her hair.

She threw herself onto the couch and cuddled the pillow into her stomach as she sat there staring at the walls and thinking of how mad she was at David. Peter entered a few minutes later obviously having fed Leo. Slowly he walked over and placed Leo in his play cot and then turned to look at Kelly.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't fair" she looked over at him regretting that moment in the kitchen.

He waved his hands implying it was nothing. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't meaning to sound like I was lecturing you" he apologised now.

Kelly just gave him a sad smile as he sat next to her on the sofa.

"You didn't offer to baby-sit did you?" he asked gently.

"No" she said as she looked down. "David didn't really give me much option."

Peter used his finger to lift her chin and make her look him in the eye.

"Why wouldn't you tell me that?"

Kelly didn't have an answer.

"Well, I'm glad you called me"

"Me too." she said as sincerely.

"How about, we get him into bed and asleep and then we can have a drink and talk?" He suggested.

"Sounds wonderful," she squinted her eyes at him slightly.

"What?"

"Peter, How good are you at assembling cots?"

Peter followed Kelly to her bedroom where the travel cot was waiting to be set up. As he entered all he could think about was the fact that he was in Kelly Rowan's bedroom. Her queen sized bet lay centred in the room a closet and bathroom came off of the far wall and the she simply had a desk with her make-up and a laptop on the surface.

"What?" she asked amused as he looked around her bedroom.

"Nothing, uh nice room" he said casually.

She just giggled and sat on the bed with Leo on her lap and motioned for Peter fix the cot.

"This doesn't look too difficult" he muttered as he set to work.

Kelly laughed for as the whole thing collapsed in a heap while Peter tried to set it up. Kelly eventually decided that maybe she should help him. She held the corner as he tried to fix the opposite one. As soon as he let go it collapsed again, trapping them both under the net together. The both laughed slightly until their eyes met. Kelly quickly untangled herself, feeling bad that she was doing this, with him, that he was here and David didn't know.

She quickly got up and collected Leo into her arms again. Deciding she needed to get out of the room for a moment she made the excuse that he should be changed before bad and she would do it while Peter fixed the bed.

Kelly and Peter sat on the couch as Leo finally slept in Kelly's room. Kelly got them a glass of wine and they put on some background music.

"Don't feel you have to stay" she told him for the fifth time since he arrived.

"I told you, I want to" he said back. "So…what exactly happened when you saw David" Peter asked hoping he had chosen the correct name.

"Uh"

"You don't have to tell me, but it might make you feel better, and we're friends aren't we?"

"The best" she nodded. "I got back yesterday and he was here, as you know. He was all dressed up in a suit and I thought he was going to take me out…"

"But he left you with his child and went out himself" Peter finished for her.

"Something like that." she smiled sadly. "I just…oh I don't know, maybe if he had asked me in advance I could have prepared for It or something, but he just sprung it on me and I don't understand why he couldn't leave him with the Nanny"

"The nanny?"

"Yeah, he has a nanny. He doesn't like to…uhh…never mind." she stopped herself from saying something she might later regret.

"And you don't like the baby."

"Oh God no I mean yes. Hmm it's not that I don't like him, I just have no experience with these things and I don't know what to do. I, uh it's like I panic and I get upset that he's upset and I can't help him."

"That just means you care." Peter tried to comfort.

"Maybe. But I shouldn't be left with him. I mean if you hadn't been her tonight I would probably have burned him with the milk cause I didn't check the temperature"

"the temperature was fine" he cut her off.

"Maybe so, but what if it hadn't been?" She was getting exasperated as she rambled away to him. "I mean before you came I tried to feed him but put the whole plastic bottle in the microwave and melted the bloody thing!"

"You melted the bottle?" he chuckled also making her laugh.

"It was an accident" she laughed back. "His crying was preventing me from thinking straight."

Peter smiled at her, loving how passionately she wanted to do it right and at how she was managing to tell him and not feeling awkward.

"I am not his mother and I feel like I shouldn't have to do these things, it's not my responsibility." She looked up and saw him just looking at her "is that a bad thing to feel?" she asked unsure what was going through his mind.

"No" he whispered as he took her hand in his and tried to comfort her, stroking it with his thumb as their eyes met and locked with each other.

A loud screech came roaring through the flat breaking their connection with one another.

"I guess Leo is awake" Kelly whispered as she went to get up.

"You want me to go?" Peter asked as he headed to her bedroom as Kelly nodded gratefully.

Peter gently picked Leo up as he swayed side to side. As he looked down at the little boy's innocent face he got lost in thought.

"How can you cause another person, who is so loving and wonderful so much grief?" Peter whispered to him. "hmmm? Yeah, I know, like father like son."

Kelly found Peter in her room swaying Leo back and forth as he sweetly sang a song to him. Peter's voice could sooth anyone, she though as she closed her eyes and let it drown her thoughts. Successfully by the end of the song they were able to retreat back to the living room.

"Feeling any happier?" he asked her hopefully.

"Yeah, he's asleep" she joked. "I can't help it. I'm sorry."

"What are you apologising for? You haven't done anything wrong" Again he took one of her hands in his. "Kelly, it's okay to get upset or angry."

She closed her eyes for a moment and when she finally opened them again she knew she wasn't gonna hold it together. Tears flowed freely down her face. "Does he really love me?" she cried.

"I can't answer that, Kel"

"Sorry. He does love me, I know he does. I just can't help but feel like a lot of the time he takes me for granted. I mean here I am stupid Kelly, getting all excited because the man that's meant to love me is coming to visit, but hey only because he needs a baby sitter and I'm apparently the best option, even though I'm a thousand miles away."

Peter couldn't help himself. He couldn't witness her like this. His hands found their way to her face as he held her cheeks. His thumbs gently wiped away her falling tears as he raised her head slightly. As soon as their eyes met He leaned in and for the first time, off screen, being completely serious, their lips met in a slow kiss. As soon as Kelly felt Peter's lips on hers she slowly closed her eyes. The kiss was prolonged but both kept their mouths closed.

When he pulled away again his hands remained on her face. When her eyes slowly opened and met his again he looked into them,

"You are anything, but stupid" he whispered to her.

Kelly didn't give him a chance to continue. She leaned in again and pressed her lips against his. This time willing him further as she opened her mouth and ran her tongue along his bottom lip. As soon as he opened his mouth, their tongues met and there was no holding back. The kiss they were experiencing seemed so different from any they had ever shared before. He tasted different. As did she. Maybe because it was real.

Kelly's hands found their way to the back of his neck as she pulled him closer to her. Peter pressed her back gently on the couch so that she lay down with him on top of her. Careful not to squash her small frame he leaned over her as he moved his kisses down her neck discovering almost immediately which spots she preferred. Kelly let out shallow breaths as his mouth moved down her neck and then back up again. It felt so good. Slowly he slipped his hand to the rim of her top edging it up slightly and playing with the skin on her stomach. He pulled his mouth away and looked at her for confirmation. Kelly just nodded at him as once again her eyes clasped closed.

Peter lifted her top over her head as she sat up slightly. He was excited when he met her semi-see through black bra. As his hands teased her skin and their mouths met again she found herself unbuttoning his shirt. She wanted him so bad. As she felt him press his groin closer to hers, she knew he wanted her just as bad. They worked on the clothes on each other's bottom halves as the kissed each other frantically. Peter gently massaged her breasts as he loved how she felt. Now only in her panties and him in his boxers they were turned on to the point of no return. Peter's hand slipped down from her chest to her leg as he played with the outline of her panties. When he knew she wanted him to he massaged her folds with his fingers before briefly plunging them inside her. As soon as they were in he realised that she was almost ready.

As their breathing became erratic, Peter stripped her of her pants and himself of his boxers. Kelly was impressed. He was much more well endowed than she had ever thought possible. A soon as he took his position on her again she felt his hardness next to her entrance.

"Please…" she sighed.

That was all he needed to gear as he plunged directly into her. They moved together rhythmically as he pulsated in and out of her. He kissed her mouth as they both moaned out loud. Peter was ready but held back for Kelly. She was so surprised. He was great, well she wasn't surprised he was great, she was surprised that he was holding back until she was satisfied. He felt her walls clamp and immediately after she came screaming his name, closely followed by him. There was no doubt, he was the best and most considerate lover she had ever had.

-


	5. Chapter 5

She knew it was wrong. She knew what she did was absolutely not excusable.  
She knew it and still it felt so good. It felt so right. And she definitely  
didn't regret it even if she thought she should feel guilty. And she felt  
guilty. For lying to David, for cheating on him, for even letting Peter kiss  
her right now. She knew it and she couldn't help it.

When Kelly thought about what they just did, with Peter still resting on top  
of her, placing butterfly kisses on her neck, she tried to form a sentence   
to at least make this awkwardness go away. Awkward - that's probably not the  
best word to describe it, Kelly thought looking at the ceiling.

Peter Gallagher, the man she always felt attracted to. He finally showed her  
that he wanted her too. All the time. But it was too late. Too late for her.  
Because she was engaged and made a promise to herself and to David when she  
said "Yes".  
Realising that everything that was going on in her head was just confusing,  
she closed her eyes and tried to think nothing for a second. It didn't work.  
Month ago she had only him in her mind, the man she had just slept with. The  
man that was always more than a friend to her.  
A few hours ago she had only him in her mind, the man she was engaged to,  
but also the man that had disappointed her.  
Now there were two men and Kelly knew from that moment on that this other  
man in her mind, wouldn't disappear as quickly as she wished he would so she  
could concentrate on being happy with the other. This man was not going to   
leave her mind. Peter.

He didn't know what to do or say. Smelling her sweet scent, kissing her warm  
skin, sleeping with her - it felt wonderful. Sleeping with Kelly, he stopped  
his thoughts. I slept with her.  
Peter knew there was another women. Not just a women - his wife - the mother  
of his children, but he couldn't help but thinking if he still loved her  
that much why didn't he think about her before he slept with Kelly? Why  
didn't he stay home with her to watch telly? Why did he watch it anyway and   
wasn't with her, doing exactly the thing he wanted to do to Kelly and why  
was he not that desperate to spend time with her as he was with Kelly? Why  
was it Kelly he waited for to arrive at work and not his wife so she'd  
finally come home to him?

Kelly still didn't know what to say and when Peter pulled his head out of   
her neck and looked at her she felt this tension again. Not a sexual one. It  
was just awkward to be there with him. She couldn't deny that she was  
attracted to him, that the sex they just had was probably the most  
passionate she ever experienced and that he was really more than a friend,  
but on the other hand, they were friends. Good friends. And colleagues. She  
wasn't used to him lying naked on top of her, kissing her neck. It was then  
when she realised that everything she thought she knew suddenly turned in a  
complete different direction and she didn't know if it was a good sign or a  
bad one. Peter wasn't the sweet friend she could've fun with anymore, she  
saw him as a man, that was unfortunately too good in bed and an amazing  
kisser. But did she really want to see him that way? Was it worth that she  
hurt someone else for it and Peter even three? No.  
At least she wasn't ready to admit it yet and even if she already knew she  
couldn't change what happened, she could still pretend and maybe everything   
would work out itself. She spent 4 years pretending he wasn't more than a  
friend, why skip now? she thought ironically and sighed.

Peter still looked down at her, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling, but Kelly  
broke the connection their eyes had anyway and looked down, feeling slightly  
embarrassed that she, a soon-to-be-wife , just slept with him without a  
second thought.

He saw her looking uncomfortable and knew he had to break this awkward  
silence if he didn't wanna ruin everything he ever had with her "Kel..." he  
started but she interrupted "I'm sorry, Peter, but...I think you should   
probably...leave".  
"What?" asked Peter in disbelieve and shifted his body a little away from  
hers.  
"I..I'm sorry i know it's my fault" she started but Peter interrupted her  
before she could finish the sentence "WE decided to do this Kelly...it's not  
your fault" he said, looking down, being hurt.  
Kelly saw the sadness in his eyes and couldn't bear it any longer. She  
lightly pushed him away so she could stand up. While she collected her  
clothes from the floor, she whispered "sorry, I gotta check on Leo" and then  
left the room.

Peter was speechless. They didn't even really talk about it... Did she think  
it was a horrible mistake? What was happening now? He knew holding back was  
difficult before but now that he knew how it is to be so close to her, he  
knew he couldn't just go on with his life like nothing happened. What was  
about him? About HIS family?  
Being disappointed with himself and Kelly, he wiped the tear away that had  
made its way down his cheek and started to put his clothes back on.  
Looking one last time back into the apartment he shared his first and  
probably last time with the beautiful women that meant the world to him, he  
turned around and left her, remembering her saying she didn't want him there  
anymore: "Leave..." "Leave..." and he left.

When Kelly left the living room she already knew that she wouldn't "check on  
Leo" as she told Peter. She just needed to escape. Escape from the man that  
meant so much to her. She knew she needed some time to herself. She was  
overwhelmed with guilt and confusion, nothing but chaos in her head.  
Everything happened so suddenly - it wasn't planned. But it felt amazing.  
And even that was an understatement.  
She leaned herself against the wall in the hall, not knowing what to do or  
say. Last night her heart took action, not her head as usual. She didn't  
know what she was doing because if she would've known her head would've  
forbidden her to sleep with him. But it was her heart that told her it was  
okay. That it was right.  
Kelly sighed and realised that what she said to Peter was neither fair nor  
did she mean it.  
She wanted to tell him that she felt guilty because of David. She wanted to  
tell him that she was confused and didn't know what to do now. She wanted to   
tell him how amazing he was and the night they shared. She wanted to tell  
him how gentle and sweet he was with Leo. She wanted to tell him that he was  
the best lover as well as best friend she could ever hope for. She wanted to  
tell him how important he was to her. She wanted to hell him that she needed  
him in her life like the air she's breathing. She wanted to tell him all  
this, but when she returned to the living-room he was already gone.

After many tears, one shower and many tries to make the baby stop screaming,  
Kelly lay on the couch, eyes closed and finally feeling some sort of peace.  
She couldn't stop thinking about Peter or more David because he was the one  
she cheated on but she knew if she told him what happened he would be hurt  
and would leave her- she knew how proud he was, after all he was just a man,   
too.

"Kelleeeeeeeey" she heard when the door closed soundly. She suddenly sat up  
on the couch to be met by a drunken David.  
"David, are...you drunk?" she asked in disbelieve. That really didn't happen  
often. He was too proud to lose control.  
"NO" he said getting angry immediately.  
Kelly got up from the couch and walked over to him.  
When she helped him out of his tie and slipped his jacket off of his  
shoulders he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her against him. From that  
position she could feel his erection immediately. No, she just thought when  
she tried to get a little away from him, but his only reaction to this was  
pulling her tighter against his body.  
"Mhhh you showered, you smell nice" he said and buried his head into her  
neck. Smelling how much he really drank she tried to get away even more,  
knowing that he was only after one thing.  
"David..." she tried but he already pushed her in the direction of her  
bedroom "I want you.." he said, not like a suggestion - like an  
instruction." David" she said again this time a little louder while she once   
again tried to push his hands away that now rested right on her ass and  
tried to get into the dressing gown she had been wearing since she came out  
of the shower. When they reached the bedroom David pushed her on the bed and  
covered her lips with his, again not the best kiss Kelly ever received.  
She thought about a reason she could tell him to stop, when she saw the baby  
still lying next to her bed "David...Leo" she said and David really stopped  
for a second and looked at his son. Kelly sighed a sigh of relieve when he  
stopped and slightly let go off her, but her expression quickly changed when  
he murmured "so? he is too young to know what's going on anyway Kel" .  
The next thing she felt was him opening her dressing gown, covering her lips  
once again with his and gripping her hands roughly while pinning them over   
her head.  
She knew then that it wouldn't make sense to try to get away or tell him to  
stop anymore. So she just tried to relax to make it not any worse than it  
already was.  
When she felt him pressing her further into the pillows and touching her  
breasts, all she could think about was Peter and how gentle he was. Only a   
few hours ago. She tried to black out the image of drunken David on top of  
her, eyes closed and thrusting sharply into her until he was "done".  
She tried to think about Him. How considerate he was of her feelings. How he  
put her pleasure before his. How he waited for her nod of confirmation  
before starting to do anything to her she might not want.  
When she felt her so called "lover"'s weight pressing down on her once   
again, she sighed in relieve- so it was finally over.  
Seeing that he was about to fall asleep on top of her, or still inside her,   
she used all her weight to push him off of her and he rolled to the side,  
groaning and falling asleep.  
Kelly sighed, close to tears. There couldn't be a bigger difference than the  
one between Kelly's two last times of "love-making". Looking to her side she  
saw David already asleep and snoring soundly, obviously satisfied for this  
month.  
She made her way quietly out of the bed and grabbed her dressing gown to put  
it back on. She then made her way into the bathroom and locked, turned the  
shower on and stepped into the warm water. There she could finally show her   
true emotions, finally cry the tears she held back for so long.  
What happened to her life? To her happiness? To romance?  
Thinking about the sex David made her just have and the night she shared  
with Peter, her sobbing only seemed to increase. Silently she leaned herself  
against the shower and slid down to the floor where she rested her head  
against the wall, with her knees pressed to her chest.  
Why did something that should feel so wonderful and be an intimate act  
between two people who love each other feel so wrong and something she  
herself always put as one of the most terrible things in the world, feel so  
damn right?

Peter spent the whole day outside, walking through a near by forest and  
thinking about Kelly. He tried everything in his power to forget her. But he  
couldn't.  
First he thought it was just because he had incredible sex with her and she  
was so new, so different from his wife. But when his wife called and he felt   
not even the need to explain to her why he wasn't coming home, he realised  
hat everything he knew changed and he felt this certain place in his heart  
empty, knowing only one person who had ever the ability to fill it and to  
make him feel complete. Kelly Rowan. I am in love with Kelly Rowan, Peter  
whispered to himself and closed his eyes "I am in love with Kelly".

The next few days went terrible for the both of them. Neither slept. Neither  
called. They both felt sad, because they didn't know where they stood and  
they both thought it wasn't the best way to part the other night. Both were  
afraid that they lost their best friend as well as the only person they  
could turn to. Peter thought Kelly was mad and didn't want him. Kelly  
thought Peter was mad because of her behaviour the other night. Both felt  
guilty because of what they did but still weren't ready to lose and give up   
on the other one. When they both came to the realisation that they had no  
clue how to continue or what to say, they just left it that way and decided  
to wait as long as they could to have to make a decision.

And the day was there, finally.  
Work.  
6:00am, LA.  
"Hey you guys, how was everyone's weekend" Josh greeted the cast.  
Everyone murmured a sleepy "good".  
Peter and Kelly stood in the middle of the crowd, as far as possible away   
from each other because they still didn't know what the other was thinking  
and they didn't talk after Peter left Kelly's apartment.  
When Josh told everyone the scenes he wanted to get done today, Kelly and  
Peter were kinda shocked to hear that there was another Kandy scene on the  
agenda for today, but they didn't dare to look at each other when Josh  
announced it because they wanted to act as casual as possible so the others  
wouldn't even think about the possibility that there was something wrong  
between the two of them.

"Peter come on" Josh yelled from his position next to the camera man.  
"Sorry..uhh i...forgot...my line" he said looking anywhere but at Kelly.  
"Your line? Peter, there is no line to say, just kiss Kel and push her to  
the bed, god i feel like I'm working with 5 year olds" Josh said annoyed  
that after the 9th take they still hadn't the scene.  
"Sorry" he murmured and looked at Kelly, seeing she was just as  
uncomfortable as him "I..need a break, Kel we need to talk" he said and  
heard Josh groaning.  
"Fine if it helps you guys finally getting professional again, god damn, i  
thought your take would take an hours and it's done, but obviously not" Josh  
said, shaking his head.  
Kelly nodded, knowing she really needed to talk about it with Peter. Kelly  
made her way into the dressing room, followed by Peter when they heard Josh  
yelling "Patrick, Susan, break - if Kelly comes back and her make up is  
ruined - Sophia stays here and does the stuff again".

After Peter had closed the door behind him he turned around and looked into  
her eyes. Suddenly he didn't know what to say anymore even if he spent the   
last days thinking about nothing but her.  
Kelly felt exactly the same. She couldn't say a thing.  
Once again she looked at those beautiful eyes that looked at her.  
When Peter gazed at her, he thought she probably was the most beautiful  
person in the world and he finally found the courage to speak "I...i know  
you think it was..." he started but when he was about to say "a mistake"  
,Kelly suddenly grabbed the collar of his shirt and pushed him on the couch  
and kissed him. When he felt her licking along his bottom lip he quickly  
opened his mouth and granted her tongue entrance before caressing her  
tongue with his. He was surprised but couldn't help but feeling over the moon  
that it was her that really initiated a kiss with him.  
"Amazing" she said breathless when they finally broke apart.  
"What?" asked Peter just as breathless, looking at her questioningly.  
"Amazing. I think it was amazing" she said pecking his lips one again.  
Peter couldn't have been more confused and happy at the same time. He softly  
stroked her face with his cheek and she said "I'm sorry, that i..." she   
started but Peter silenced her by placing a soft kiss over her lips "I know.  
It's complicated".  
Kelly nodded and looked down, but Peter lifted her chin so she had to look  
into his eyes "Kelly I..." he started but she put a finger to his lips and  
caressed it softly while she spoke "I know. You are married. I'm engaged.  
It's..it's impossible".  
Peter put a hand over the finger she had placed on his lips, kissed it   
softly and then put it away "No. I wanted to say that, that I'm in love with  
you Kelly. I fell in love with you the moment i was introduced to you. I  
tried all these years to pretend and tell me that it's just because I'm  
attra.." he started but Kelly was quick to stop his rambling and pushed her  
lips hard to his, while pressing him down on the couch. She had been waiting  
for this moment for years.  
Peter didn't know what was going on and what had gotten into her but he  
definitely wasn't complaining.  
When Kelly broke the kiss after what seemed like forever, she said "Me, too".  
Once again Peter didn't know what she was talking about or maybe he did but  
just wanted to hear her say it "what?".  
"I...love you Peter" she said and kissed him once more before she said "but  
we can't...". Before Kelly could say the thing he was afraid of, Peter  
jumped in "I know, but...I can't just go on with my life like nothing  
happened".  
"Me either" she admitted sadly and looked down to his chest she had been  
rubbing absently.  
"So what are we going to do?" Peter asked hoping she had some perfect  
solution for their "problem".  
"I...i donno but i can't just...leave him" she said and felt a tear prickle  
down her cheek. She wished nothing more than that she could just be with him  
and leave David. But she couldn't. Because she had promised.  
Peter felt sad, but understood exactly what she meant. He couldn't just  
leave his family either- they both had a lot to lose and there were a lot of  
people involved that could get badly hurt- not only them. Before finishing  
his thoughts he quickly wiped her cheek dry and pulled her into a hug while  
rubbing her back up and down to calm her "Shhhh i know... i know". 


	6. Chapter 6

Kelly pulled her head out of Peter's chest and looked up at him until finally their eyes met. Sadness was all they read. Peter took him thumb and gently wiped away her tear without removing his hand from her cheek afterwards. He slowly nudged his head closer to hers as he found himself in the exact same position he had the night they babysat. Kelly watched as Peter closed his eyes and slowly approached her lips with his. She couldn't resist him, she didn't want to.

Her eyes soon followed his and closed as their lips came into contact. It started slow and tender as their lips pressed together, both mouths remained closed. Kelly's hands ran up from his chest, over his shoulders and finally settled, clasped behind his neck. Glad that she was participating in the kiss instead of pulling away, Peter decided to move it further. He carefully opened his mouth as his tongue slipped out; he didn't even need to ask her mouth to open as her lips parted momentarily. Kelly felt Peter's mouth open and relieved followed with hers. As their tongues clashed together she let out a soft moan. This was music to his ears.

Now completely lost in the each other's taste Kelly leaned in harder to him pushing him back on the sofa, where she finally landed on top of him. He ran his hands up her back as the kiss continued. Her hand were now lost in his hair as her groin felt what she was doing to his. As she felt Peter's hand slip up the inside of her top she thought of how tender and gentle he was. He glided his hand over her flesh as opposed to gripping at it, which she had been victim to on a number of occasions by David. When his hand reached her breast he sent his kisses down her neck as she moaned noticing how he remembered her favourite spots. Wanting more she leaned her hips down further, her groin now only separated from his by their clothes, as she gently rubbed against him causing him to moan into her mouth as their kiss resumed.

"Kelly? Peter?" a knock and a voice came from the door.

Springing off of the sofa immediately they each regained their composure as the person entered.

"Josh would like you to come back now and see if we can get this scene right."

They both just nodded. "We'll be right there."

As they followed the messenger out of the dressing room Peter caught Kelly's arm making her turn around to face him. He checked nobody could see in the open door before stealing a final kiss and whispering sweetly that this would be continued later.

"Okay, so remember, all you have to do is Kiss her and push her onto the bed." Josh told Peter not really noticing the slight smile on his face.

Kelly felt herself uneasy as everyone was watching them just like they had been before. However she wouldn't complain because she was about to get to kiss Peter and then have him on top of her, on top of the bed. She looked over noticing the slight smirk on his face and knew what he was smiling about: Her.

"And action!"

Peter took one step towards Kelly, his eyes speaking their own words to her as he took her in his arms and kissed her fully. Their tongues being used slightly like always. Kelly couldn't help herself but smile through the kiss as Peter pushed her towards the bed where they then both fell. Him on top of her.

When they landed on the bed Kelly felt Peter's groin clash with hers. Never would she enjoy that feeling more as she hoped he would lean further into her as their kiss deepened. Peter lay on top of Kelly loving how great this felt. He almost forgot that they were shooting a scene and everyone was watching. He was so desperate to advance things and touch her more.

"And Cut!" The director's voice came.

Peter reluctantly climbed off of Kelly then offered her his hand to help her off the bed. Everyone stood silent.

"Now that!" Josh spoke as he pointed to the bed "Was, Exactly, what I had in mind!"

Kelly and Peter forced professional smiles, both a little gutted that they weren't going to get to do it again.

"What the hell were they talking about in that dressing room that made them come back out and perform like THAT?" Melinda leaned over to Rachel and whispered causing a giggle.

Kelly heard a light knock at her door as she got ready to go home from the set. Shortly after Peter poked his head around the door and smiled at her.

"Hey, come in" she smiled back offering him a seat on the sofa where she sat next to him. "Is everything ok?"

Peter looked down. "Ah Kel," He sighed "what are we gonna do?"

"What do you mean?" she asked worried at his answer.

"Well obviously David and Paula complicate our whole situation, and it's gonna be really hard, but I can't let you go. I can't pretend I'm not in love with you, especially now that I know you feel the same." He stopped briefly as he took her hand in his, "and I definitely want what happened to happen again with you." He looked cautiously up to her nervous about what she was going to say.

"I know," she gave his hand a squeeze "me too"

"So...our secret?" He asked.

Kelly nodded sadly hoping that she wasn't making a mistake and this wasn't going to turn out to be just an affair. All they could do though was give it a shot. "Our Secret" she repeated as their lips locked in a loving kiss.

Kelly was all that filled his thoughts as he drove home that day. What could he say, he was in love. To him it felt so right even though he knew it was so wrong. As he pulled up in his driveway he immediately felt a hint of guilt as he saw his wife's car parked on front of the garage. He slowly climbed out of the car and walked to the front door. He heard his wife's voice as he stood on the porch. Inhaling a deep breath he placed his

hand on the handle and pushed it open hoping she didn't have a plan for their evening. He really didn't feel like having to work tonight at acting the happy husband.

When he walked in, he didn't know why but he as soon as he saw Paula he immediately began comparing her physique to Kelly's. Kelly was slimmer and had a nicer bum, Paula was pretty but nothing compared to Kelly's inner and outer beauty. STOP! He scolded himself as he traditionally went over and pecked his wife on the cheek hello before sitting on the sofa. When Paula came off the phone she sat down next to him smiling.

"How was your day?" she asked cheerfully.

"It was fine" he answered unenthusiastically.

"That good huh?" she giggled.

"Actually, it was very successful" he smiled thinking about the fact that he and Kelly were taking their relationship forward, even if it was including sneaking about and not exactly ideal.

"Good. Okay so tonight..."

Peter rolled his eyes subtly as she began to ramble her plans.

"...then I have to take Katherine and Jamie to a party and I'm staying to catch up with Mel. So you are gonna be on your own all night."

Ordinarily Peter would have moaned about his wife leaving him and spending yet another night with her friends or whatever, but tonight, he didn't care.

"Fine" he nodded "I have somewhere I have to be anyway" he said making sure he left the room before she questioned him about it.

Kelly arrived home kind of hoping that David would be gone. He wasn't. When she opened the front door to her apartment she wished she could automatically close it again. The baby was lying on the sofa, screaming because he dropped his dummy, David was untidily throwing clothes into a bag and the TV was turned up really, really loud. She threw her bag down in frustration and went straight to the remote to turn the TV down.

"Oh hi darling" David said without giving her his full attention "didn't hear you come in"

"Uh yeah, why am I am I not surprised?" she asked rhetorically.

Kelly walked over to the couch where Leo was and picked up his dummy, wiping it and then put it back in his mouth, ceasing his wailing noise. Now why couldn't David just do that? She asked herself.

"Aww you are so good with him" David smiled.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!!! She screamed in her head, but she only offered him a faint smile.

"When are you leaving?" she asked as casually as possible while folding the clothes that he hadn't already stuffed into his back.

"In about 5 minutes" he answered.

Kelly just looked at him. "And what I wasn't home by then? Were you just gonna leave?"

"It doesn't matter, you are here. Now can you put Leo's jacket on him please?"

Kelly just looked at him. So ignorant. She went over and picked up Leo gently and placed his arms carefully in his sleeves. Poor baby, she thought as she brushed his hair down which was sticking up all over the place, he'll take notice of you one day she told him in thought.

"Right. That's the car here David said as he peered out of the window."

He picked up their bags and took Leo from Kelly's arms before heading outside. He handed the baby to his PA and then turned to get in the car. Only then did he remember Kelly who was stood on the doorstep.

"Bye" he said as he walked over and gave her a lame attempt at a hug.

"Bye" she smiled back placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"OH" he turned around as he remembered "I want you in Canada on Friday night" and then he walked away.

"Not if it's for babysitting" she said as she waved bye to the car.

She turned and went back inside. The minute she sat back down on the couch there was a knock at the door.

"Uh" she groaned loudly as she got up again. However her moans stopped when she saw a ruggedly handsome looking Peter on the doorstep.

"Peter!" She said while quickly pulling him inside. "You should call before you come over, if you had been five minutes earlier David would have been here"

"Its fine I waited for him to leave" he defended until she shot him a confused, what do you mean? Look. "I was hiding in the bushes" he said proudly.

Kelly just laughed at him as he grabbed her and pulled her close catching her lips in his.

"Very impressive" she giggled.

"Well I am very subtle and sneaky" he laughed back as he kissed her a second time.

"Come to continue what we started earlier did you?" she asked quietly when they pulled apart.

"Hmm hmm" he muttered as he kissed her again, this time more fully as he walked them back to the couch and pulled her down onto it.

"Why make yourself at home" she giggled as he pulled them onto the couch and sprawled himself out.

Peter just smiled up at her. Her dazzling blue eyes and her curled blonde hair. Oh she was a thing of beauty. As their lips met again they were interrupted by Kelly's phone. She pulled away and looked at the name flashing on the screen. She placed it back on the table not caring anymore, as she let it ring.

He looked at her questioningly.

"David" she answered watching his expression grow into a frown. "But I don't want to think about him right now, never mind talk to him" she continued.

"He upset you again?" Peter ran his fingers through her hair as she settled back against him.

"No, not really upset me. He's just, so, I don't know what the best word is, ummm, self-centred I guess." She looked up at him and stroked his cheek, "the complete opposite of you" she smiled.

Peter placed a light kiss on her button nose. "I hate the way he treats you." He whispered before her lips covered his.

Kelly shifted her body so she faced him as she held his head close to hers and their tongues danced around each other. Peter's hands ran up her top as he sought out her skin. He pulled her top right up and over her head before launching it across the room causing her to giggle. His mouth immediately found the bare skin above her elegant and sexy bra where he kissed it desperately.

"Hmm bedroom" she breathed as she pulled his head out of her chest.

Peter smiled as he stood up from the sofa and to her surprise also picked her up. He carried her through to her room as she placed kisses all over her face. He lightly pecked her lips a couple of times before placing her on the bed and pulling her jeans off of her in the process to reveal her matching thong.

Kelly looked up at him amused as he just stood there looking her up and down.

"Like what you see?" she asked seductively.

"Oh yeah" he muttered. "I'm regretting that I took this long to see it" he spoke.

Kelly knew that he meant he should have told her how he felt before she was engaged but she didn't want to have a serious conversation right now. She sat up and pulled him towards her by the belt undoing it as she went. He lifted his own top over his head as she forced both his trousers and his boxers to the floor. She took his erection in her hand and began to work her magic on him. Peter moaned out loud at the sensation she was causing. When he got close he gently leaned forward pushing her back onto the bed as he climbed on top of her. It didn't take long before they were completely naked together under the covers. Peter hovered his tip at her entrance as he prepared to enter her. He leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth.

"I love you Peter Gallagher" she whispered as he pulled away from the kiss.

"I love you too baby" he whispered before plunging straight into her allowing her moans to escape her.

"KELLY! It's just me. I left my brief case and you didn't answer your phone!"

Kelly gasped looking up at Peter.

"Is that..."

"David!" she started to panic as she pushed Peter of her and jumped off the bed.

"Kelly where are you?"

"Shit" Peter said under his breath.

Kelly gathered his clothes and threw them into his arms.

There was a knock at the door.

"Quick" she pushed Peter "in the closet!"

The bedroom door opened.

Kelly hurriedly grabbed her dressing gown from the shelf next to Peter's head as she threw it around her and motioned him to be quiet. Closing the door on him and spinning around just in time as David walked into the room.

"David" she pretended to be surprised. "What are you doing back?"

"I forgot my briefcase, didn't you hear your phone?" he asked eyeing her up and down as she stood in her partially open dressing gown.

"No, sorry it's in the living room." She lied.

"Oh. Why are you not dressed?" he asked actually enjoying the view. "And why are the bed sheets messed? What are you doing?" he asked in an accusing tone.

Peter's heart skipped a beat as he heard David question her, hoping Kelly could invent an excuse.

"Well, Kelly improvised. "I umm, I had to change the bed sheets and I started but was uncomfortable in my clothes so I had to change, and I thought I could just wear this because I was alone and I am going for a bath anyway." She stuttered hopeful that he'd buy it.

"Oh, ok" David nodded as if he completely understood.

Kelly and Peter both let out a silent sigh.

"You know, I have to say..." David approached Kelly "walking in here with you like that is very appealing"

Kelly just offered a faint sigh as he grabbed her arms and pulled her against him pressing his lips hard into hers.

"David" she pulled away as far as possible only too aware that Peter was in hearing range. "you will be late for your flight."

"Oh, five minutes won't hurt" he replied as he opened her robe and buried head into her neck placing rough kisses down her neck, in all the wrong places and forced her back onto the bed.

FIVE MINUTES!!!!! FIVE MINUTES!!!! Peter mouthed to himself as he sat there in shock. Well he obviously doesn't care for anyone's pleasure but his own. FIVE MINUTES? To cook a cup of tea or brush your teeth maybe! But not to have sex! He heard David moaning as he listened from the closet. He didn't hear a sound from Kelly indicating that she wasn't having a good time. He wasn't surprised, what woman is ever gonna get an orgasm out of five minute sex? Peter couldn't believe the way in which he treated her. He would bet anything that David, right in that very moment was nothing but rough with her and for that he wanted to hit him. Poor Kelly he thought. She deserves a man who really appreciates her.

David landed hard on top of Kelly hurting her a little with his heavy weight. Had that been Peter, Kelly thought to herself he would have used his arms to stop himself from crushing her. David moved his mouth to Kelly's as he placed rushed sloppy kisses on her, his hand moving up her side as he squeezed at her breasts anything but tenderly. All Kelly could think about was poor Peter was in her closet, naked, listening to her fiancé have his way with her. Oh boy.

David moved his hand down to his own trousers as he started to undo the belt. Much to Kelly's disappointment he didn't even stop kissing her to do it.

"David you're hurting me" she said referring to his large body lying on top of hers with nothing assisting his weight but her.

"Just a minute" he breathed heavily still fighting with his belt. Finally he got it open and pulled his trousers down slightly revealing his hideous man pants.

Peter clenched his fists. He's hurting her. Peter didn't know how but he didn't need to, the mere fact that he was inflicting pain on her was enough. His knuckles turned white as he got madder and madder when David began moaning again. Peter moved his weight to his other leg uncomfortable with everything around him. As he shifted his arm caught the shoes they lay on the shelf. As two pairs fell he succeeded in catching only one.

BANG!

David stopped kissing Kelly and turned his head in the direction of the closet confused.

Kelly closed her eyes in sheer horror.

"What was that?"

"Umm, I have no idea. Something probably just fell."

"Yeah" David said sarcastically not believing her. He climbed of her, actually to her relief, and redid his trousers as her walked towards the closet.

Peter clenched his eyes closed. As if the situation wasn't horrible enough. He placed shoes on the shelf as quietly as possible and then turned back to facing the door. He noticed the moans had stopped as he saw a shadow appear under the door.

Kelly clenched her eyes shut as she replaced her gown on her body and perched on the end of the bed.

"David you are being silly" she said helplessly.

"Shut up" he instructed.

He reached the closet while turning and taking another look at Kelly who was pretending to be unmoved by the whole thing.

"David..."

Too late. His hand met the door handle.


	7. Chapter 7

David stood exactly in front of the closet, face to face with Peter - just that the door was still closed, of course.

Kelly tried to stop him one last time but David put his hand already on the door handle. Too late, both Kelly and Peter thought and closed their eyes.

David took one last breath, not knowing what was waiting on the other side and then slowly turned the handle when he heard a yell "David, YOU REALLY NEED TO GO NOW, YOU'LL MISS YOUR PLANE".

Kelly and Peter, but a lot quieter, sighed a sigh of relieve when David let go off the door and nodded and yelled back "Coming".

When David turned back around to the bed, Kelly had already made her way towards him and pulled him into a hug "See you..on Friday" she said to definitely keep his thoughts off of that closet.

"Uh huh. Too bad we couldn't finish that" he said motioning to her still slightly open dressing gown "here. But don't worry - you'll see me soon again. Bye" he said and turned around when he heard Kelly saying "Bye".

"OH MY GOD I REALLY THOUGHT HE CAUGHT US" Peter breathed and left the closet.

"PETER!" Kelly shrieked and pushed him back into the closet when she heard David in the other room "AH my brief case, almost forgot - again".

Peter quickly took his old position and stopped breathing- he almost ruined everything.  
David once again entered the room and said "Ah I knew I put it here somewhere". He picked up his brief case, gave Kelly a half-hearty smile and then left. Really left. Left like leaving the apartment and driving away- left.

After a few moments Kelly breathed deeply and opened the closet door when she was sure David had left. Peter got out and mouthed an "everything okay" and she nodded.  
Before doing anything else, Peter pulled Kelly into a tight hug, feeling bad that he didn't help her when David "attacked" her so suddenly.

"Sorry that you had to" Kelly started but Peter quickly interrupted her "You have nothing to be sorry for, I'm sorry that..." he said but it was Kelly's turn to interrupt

"Shh you did the right thing. If you would've come out then there would've been a problem- believe me that was nothing".

Peter pulled away from the hug and softly stroked her cheek "Why are you doing this to yourself?".

"Peter, i already told you he is just... self-centred , but not a bad person! He can be..nice, too" Kelly said and interrupted herself "if he wants me to baby-sit his child" she thought to herself and continued "please just change the subject" she pleaded and Peter nodded and kissed her.

"How about we pick up where we left earlier?" Kelly smiled mischievously

.  
Peter looked slightly shocked and said "You really want to continue after that evening? I mean that was pretty exciting not that i..." he started but Kelly silenced him by pressing her lips firmly on to his, then turned the both of them around and pushing Peter on to the bed, with her on top of him.

"I take that as a yes" she said and giggled, when Peter nodded and opened her dressing gown.

"So where exactly did we stop?" Peter asked smiling into her neck, while placing soft kisses all over her neck, shoulder and chest.

"Maybe it's just me but i think it was us lying naked in that bed here" Kelly ginned and pushed the dressing gown completely off of her body.

"Ohh right, well then we are definitely on the right track" he said amused and pulled her down to be able to kiss her properly.

Kelly slightly moaned when the kiss got deeper and she felt Peter's tongue caressing her own in warm strokes - what an incredible kisser, she thought and smiled into the kiss, already forgetting about David and how roughly he was a few minutes ago. Peter was her medicine and as far as she could tell - it works wonders.

It didn't take them long to finally "seal the deal" and they both cuddled close under the covers after.

Peter still rested half on top of her, head on her stomach while she stroked his hair with her fingertips.

Both sighed happily and after a few minutes of comfortable silence Peter asked "What are you thinking?".

Kelly smiled. She loved that he was really interested in her and really wanted to know what she thinks and feels "Im thinking...that I wish we could stay like this forever".

Peter smiled and stroked the sides of her upper body with his fingertips "Yeah me, too".

"Baby" Peter once again broke the silence after a few moments.

"Yes" she answered, when Peter looked up at her.

"I love you" he said and Kelly smiled down at him "I love you, too, Peter".

She probably would never get tired of saying or hearing those words. Neither did he.

"Glad to hear it" he said as he pushed himself up with his arms and slowly closed the gap between their lips.

When he reached them, he covered her lips in a soft kiss and after they broke apart both looked into each others eyes, really wishing that they would never have to move again.

-

The next few days couldn't have gone better for Peter and Kelly. They spent as much time together as they could and because David was back in Canada and Paula busy with redecorating the whole house, something she did almost every month, it was a lot easier for them to see each other and they felt less guilty.

"Sooo what do you wanna do today?" Peter chimed happily as he walked into Kelly's dressing-room after work.

He saw her getting "Kirsten's" dress off to put her own clothes back on so he continued without letting her answer "I thought, i donno, maybe we could have dinner or something, ...yeah yeah I know you'll say we can't because someone could see us but how about we go to a hotel and order room service or something, just you and me" he said and slowly made his way behind her to wrap his strong arms around her waist.

Kelly still stood there, only in her bra and jeans, a not really happy look plastered across her beautiful face. She slowly turned around and kissed Peter softly before saying "Peter, that sounds great but did you forget what day tomorrow is?".

Peter's hands still rested on her hips and he smiled at her, but when he saw her expression change, so did his. He looked slightly confused and said "What? Which day? Friday" he said chuckling.

Kelly rolled her eyes "exactly. Friday".

"Yeah which means today's Thursday. Thanks for making that one clear baby" he said to lighten the mood.

Kelly laughed softly for a moment, shaking her head "Hilarious. But Peter" she started and looked down, feeling quite sad about the thing she was going to remind him of "tomorrow is Friday, which means, I'm going to fly to Canada to see David".

Peter suddenly understood. Of course. He just felt so happy these days that he almost forgot about this jerk.

He slightly nodded and said with a small sad smile "almost forgot".

Kelly looked into his eyes and stroked his cheek "Sorry. But i promised and he'll get..." she started but Peter interrupted her sentence "I know" he simply said and put his forehead onto hers.

"Maybe we can still have a proper good-bye" Peter said hopefully, more like a question than a statement.

Kelly smiled slightly, loving how he always wants to spend time with her. She nodded and softly kissed him before she wriggled from his grasp to finish getting dressed.

Peter smiled and watched her "so what do you wanna do?".

When Kelly was completely dressed in her own clothes she turned back around and clasped her hands behind his neck, smiling, and said "Spending time with you".

He grinned and kissed her passionately "Well that I can do".

"Mhm thought so" she said grinning and then took his hand in hers "So where are we going?" she asked.

"Paris? Venice?" Peter said jokingly and Kelly threw her head back sighing "Ohh how i wish we could".

"Me, too. But hey, let's make the best of your last night here. Our last night here for a while" he started smiling but got sadder each word he said.

Kelly was quick to notice this and lifted his chin with a finger, kissing his lips "Live the moment. Don't think about the future" she said and Peter smiled "You are right".

After a lot of back and forth they finally decided on Peter's first suggestion: not a hotel room, but Kelly's apartment, ordering dinner - nice dinner - and a lot of time together.

-

When they finished eating they cuddled on the sofa and pretended to watch telly.

"What are you thinking now" Peter broke the silence after a few moments. Kelly giggled softly "I still wish we wouldn't have to move".

Peter smiled and stroked her hair, occasionally leaving kisses on her temple "Yeah..." he agreed with her.

Kelly leaned her head a little up to his and covered his lips with hers in a sensual kiss. When she felt him not pulling away she softly asked for entrance to his mouth and he gladly obliged and let her in, twirling his own tongue around hers.

Deciding that they hadn't been close enough, Peter rolled them slightly over on the couch so he was on top of her, not breaking their passionate kiss.

When they started to let their hands roam each others bodies and first moans escaped their throats, they heard a cell starting to ring.

"Argh Kel...I think it's yours" Peter said and reached to the table in front of the couch to hand it to Kelly.

Kelly smiled apologizing and then answered it, because she knew if she let it ring, it would just disturb them so she decided to just finish the conversation as quickly as possible "Rowan" she said politely.

That's what Peter probably loved most about her: She was always so kind, so lovely to everyone even if she was in the worst of moods or didn't wanna talk to somebody.

While she spoke, Peter started to place soft kisses down her neck while sliding his hands under her top so he could feel the bare skin underneath it.

Kelly smiled at Peter but then frowned when she heard who it was "David".

Peter heard him whispering to her through the phone but couldn't make out what he was saying, so he just kept his position on top of her and continued kissing and touching her milky skin.

"I .. yes...could you just...David could...I...yes i wanted to say that but you...would you please...no...stop interrup... NO...i already told you that..yes..yes...see you tomorrow" he heard her say and felt her getting slightly frustrated.

When she closed her phone and sighed, Peter looked up at her and softly stroked her cheek "everything okay?" he asked concerned.

"Now it is" she said smiling and used her hand behind his neck to pull his face back down on top of her.

A few minutes later they had already moved to the bedroom, only wearing their underwear and kissing passionately under the blanket.

Kelly moaned when Peter started to massage her already uncovered breasts but pulled away from the kiss, when she heard a cell ringing again.

"Argh i can't believe it" Peter breathed out when he looked at her, obviously annoyed because of the interruption.

"Let it ring" Kelly said and brought his head back down but when the cell kept ringing and ringing Peter pushed himself back up with his arms and whispered "I'll be right back honey". Kissing her one last time, he got up and left the room to answer his cell.  
"Hello?" he asked not like the most polite person in the word.

"Honey! Finally oh my god i was so worried about you. Why didn't you answer your phone?" he heard his wife's voice answering him.

"Sorry didn't here it" he lied "what is it?" he asked.

"Nothing just wanted to know how you are. You know there are these annoying people that do our floor, oh my god i can tell you.."she started and Peter got slightly angry. SHE INTERRUPTED HIM AND KELLY TO GOSSIP ABOUT SOME STUPID DECORATERS?

"Sorry Paula, I...I'm sorry that you are annoyed but i have to do some work here" he said, because he told her he was working tonight.

"Okay I'm sorry honey. See you later" she said and hung up before he could say anything else. Finally. Some. Peace.

Kelly waited in bed, desperate for Peter when he finally entered the room with a grin on his face.

He slowly got rid of his boxers, knowing Kelly was watching. "Come back to me, now!" Kelly giggled softly, playing frustrated (which was not really difficult because she really was desperate for him, especially when he stripped himself of his last garment right in front of her).

Peter chuckled and asked "you like what you see?", teasing her with her own words from the other night.

Kelly looked slowly up and down his body and then opened the covers for him to join her "ohh wouldn't you like to now how much?".

He finally rejoined her in bed, once again kissing her like there wouldn't be a tomorrow.

She moaned when he replaced his hands on her breasts and then slid one hand slowly down her body to rid her of her sexy thong.

When he succeeded he placed himself back between her legs and moved his kisses to her neck, whispering "i love you" against her skin before entering her.

Kelly gripped his shoulders and moaned loudly when she felt him filling her completely with every thrust.

"Mhh Peter" she said while sliding her hands down his back and gripped the soft flesh of his behind, pulling him deeper inside her.

"You feel amazing" he breathed against her neck, while still thrusting in and out of her.  
Peter and Kelly both knew they were close and after a few moments, her walls tightened around him and they both climaxed, shouting the others name in harmony.  
Soft kisses, a lot of cuddling and a few strawberries that were left from dessert later, Kelly lightly said "Mhh now that was a good-bye, i should leave you more often".

Peter let out a soft laugh but then whispered "Im gonna miss this. Im gonna miss you".

Kelly looked up at him and caught his lips in hers before answering "Me, too. But...I'll call you as often as i can and it won't be for that long time. I'll try to get back here as soon as possible. David just wants to tell me something and probably wants me to baby-sit Leo, but that's it and after that i can fly back ...if...if you are still here".

Peter waited until their eyes locked and then said "I'll always be waiting for you. Don't you worry, baby".

Kelly smiled and brought a finger to his lips, softly caressing and looking at it while saying "I love you, Peter".

"I love _you _Kelly" he replied and their lips locked in a passionate kiss, before they both lost themselves in each other, trying to make most of their 'last night'.

Kelly woke up the next morning and smiled when she felt Peter's arms around her waist and his head in the back of her neck.

She didn't want to wake him but when she turned in his arms and looked behind him on her bedside drawer, she thought she must've imagined the red numbers that looked back at her.

Not wasting another minute she quickly got out of his grasp, ran into the bathroom and jumped into the shower.

Peter awoke only a few moments later. When he reached out to Kelly, or the place she would have been, and was met by cold emptiness, he rubbed his eyes and made his way to the bathroom himself.

When Peter stood in front of the slightly open door, he smiled when he heard the pouring water.

He slowly and quietly entered the room and then sneaked into the shower, placing himself right behind her.

Kelly almost jumped out of her skin, when she felt his hands circling her waist. She quickly turned around and was met by a long good-morning-kiss.

When they broke apart, Kelly smiled "hi".

Peter returned the statement and hugged her tightly to him, just wanting to be close to her.

"Peter, I'm sorry but I really need to hurry up if i don't wanna miss my plane" Kelly whispered into his ear while stroking his lower back with one hand and gripping his head with the other, to be as close to him as possible.

"Oh god I'm gonna miss you so much" he said while placing soft kisses over her neck and shoulder.

"Im gonna miss you too" she said and sighed sadly.

After a few minutes they finally got out of the shower and Kelly could dry her hair and get dressed.

Peter carried her bag outside and they both waited there for her cab, holding hands. They knew they had to be careful in public but it was still quite dark outside and Kelly's apartment wasn't in the middle of LA so they didn't risk being found by paparazzi or anything like that.

When they saw the cab from distance slowly approaching , Kelly picked her head up off Peter's shoulder and looked him in the eyes "So...I'll call you and you, feel free to call ME, anytime you want. I'll give you a call when i arrived in Canada" she said and Peter nodded "I love you" he said and kissed her one last time.

"I love you, too" she replied, wiping the tear away that had made it's way down her cheek. She just didn't know how she was going to cope without him, even if it was just for a few days.

Peter watched her climbing into the car, waved to her and then watched the car disappear down the street. What was he doing now? Without her?

I know the answer Peter, go home to your family and tell your wife that you had to do a lot of night shoots and you haven't slept all night, which is true, just because of a reason Paula really doesn't need to know, Peter thought and made his way over to his car to head home.

Kelly was still in the cab when the first text message arrived: "Already missing you". She smiled and already felt a little bit better.

When the next message arrived Kelly was already seated in the plane : I love you. Don't you forget to call me when you are in Canada. She giggled quietly to herself- typical Peter- always concerned about her. She couldn't help but finding it dead sexy and sweet.

Kelly received the third message when she stood in front of David's villa in Toronto:

"Did you forget me? Still waiting for your call. I want you back- now. Miss you, baby"  
She shook her head and smiled: ohhh how she already missed him.

Kelly used her key to open the door and when she heard noises in the kitchen, she made her way straight to it, being curious about what David wanted to tell her that is so important that he couldn't do it on the phone. A new job-idea? Kelly sighed and turned the last corner, seeing David making his way already towards her to greet her.  
It was late evening when Peter's cell finally started to ring. He excused himself from the living room, saying he needed to answer this IMPORTANT CALL and locked himself in the bathroom.

"Hi baby" Peter greeted her cheery.

"Hi" she said and Peter felt that something was wrong immediately.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, so much concern in his voice that it almost broke Kelly's heart.

"I need to tell you something" she slowly began, while wiping her cheeks with a tissue dry. She was glad that David had left for work a few minutes ago.

"Okay what is it" Peter said and when he heard her sobbing quietly he got sad himself, knowing he couldn't do more for her than listen.

"It's about David" she continued and Peter felt himself getting incredibly angry  
"What did he do? Did ..did he hurt you?" he asked shocked about his own idea.

"No. no nothing like that, believe me" Kelly quickly said.

"Then what is it Kel, you can tell me" Peter pushed slightly. He just wanted to freaking know what was wrong. Whatever it was, he needed to know and he prepared himself for the worst, which wasn't a bad idea at all.

"I told you the wedding wasn't anytime soon, so we don't need to worry about that for now" Kelly said and Peter nodded and even if she couldn't see him, she continued  
"David rescheduled. And with that i mean...the wedding is soon, Peter --- Really soon" 


	8. Chapter 8

**First of all we want to thank you for all your comments!!! They keep us motivated! We hope you enjoy this chapter. Much love 3**

**-**

Peter felt a lump gather in his throat, as he ran his finger through his hair and bowed his head.

"when?" was all he could say.

Kelly closed her eyes wishing she wasn't in the position she was in. A tear gathered in her eye as she whispered,

"Ten days."

Then a tear fell and rolled gently down her cheek as silence floated between them.

Peter didn't know what to say. He couldn't clear his throat to even try.

"Say something" she whispered.

"I would, if I knew what to say."

She sighed lightly as she wiped her face.

"I don't want you to marry him." Peter said "you will be so unhappy."

Kelly smiled slightly. Peter had just asked her not to marry David. Did she hear him right?

"When are you coming back down to LA?" he asked.

"I don't know. Tomorrow I guess."

"He won't mind?"

"I'll tell him I have stuff to do for the wedding in LA. He'll go for that."

"Okay" Peter nodded.

"I have to go" she regretted "Leo is crying."

Peter was about to say something but quickly stopped himself.

"Okay. Well let me know when you are coming back."

"I will." She said softly wondering how, after delivering that news she should say bye.

"Okay baby. Bye, I love you" he spoke first.

Kelly smiled. "love you too. See you soon."

Peter flipped his phone closed as he bowed his head, feeling like he could cry. All he wanted to do was scream in frustration. Although he knew Kelly and him couldn't continue the way they had been forever, he had hoped for a while longer. Was David on to them? Is that why he moved the wedding forward? How long had he been planning this for? What was his hurry? A million questions floated through his brain as he felt helpless. How on earth were they going to fix this one? He washed his face with cold water from the basin and rejoined his family in the living room to watch the remainder of their movie. His daughter coming over and cuddling into him. Peter simply sat there watching his kids as he thought about the bombshell that had just been dropped.

Kelly hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. Well it could have gone much worse she told herself, trying to believe it. She turned around and glanced through the glass door to where she could see David sitting there watching the TV. Leo was still howling but she refused to go and get him. Why should she? She had her own mess to deal with. Just then David got up and started heading for the stairs, Kelly was shocked as she slowly heard the cries subside. What was she going to do? She wondered what Peter was thinking right now. She wondered how the hell David would do this.

David walked back down the stairs after settling Leo to where he found his very very soon bride to be. As she turned around and saw him he had a huge smile on his face.

"What?" she asked in a tone that was anything but warm or gentle.

"Nothing.; I just wondered if you feel like celebrating." David walked over to her with a grin on his face as he placed his hands on her hips.

For just a second as he approached her Kelly recognised the old David. The man that she had first dated and allowed herself to love. That only makes things more complicated she told herself.

As she looked up her eyes met David's. She thought she could count on one hand the amount of time she had been able to have this contact with him that she could notice his eyes, and more importantly that he could notice hers. She smiled warmly at him as he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Now Kelly knew what he had in mind. However, she wasn't particularly in the mood. But she also couldn't reject him because that would be too suspicious. So she allowed him to take her hand and lead her upstairs to the master bedroom.

Kelly woke up the next morning and found David lying next to her. Although there was no contact between them, it was kind of nice to wake up with someone next to her. To her surprise David had been very gentle and unselfish the night before. Although she knew he hadn't given her a full orgasm she wasn't going to tell him.

She pushed the covers off her and headed for a shower. When she returned and got dressed David finally woke up.

"Where are you going?" He asked as he saw her packing some clothes into her bag.

"Ummm back to LA. Where do you think?" She asked.

"I thought you would stay longer" he said sitting up.

"I can't. I only came up in the first place because you said you really needed me to"

David did not look happy. "but Leo…" he began before she cut him off.

"Okay look. If you expect me to be able to marry you in ten days i have to go to LA and organize things." She lied.

"What things?"

"My dress, for starters. Plus I have to tell Mindy if she's gonna be my maid of honour."

"And you can't just pick a dress here and phone Melinda?"

"No" she said sternly. "David if you want me to be on that isle in ten days, well actually nine now, then you've gotta let me go and to LA and sort out some things."

"Fine" He said still not best pleased. "But it better be worth it."

Kelly just nodded whatever as she gave him a quick peck on the lips and left the house, just wanting to get away.

Peter woke up the next morning alone in his bed. This was unusual, normally he was first awake. He had probably overslept due to the fact he had lay awake for hours worrying about things and about Kelly. He sat up ready to get up as his phone vibrated with a text message.

"Hey you. I'm on my way to the airport. So I will be back today if you can get around at some point then great. Love you xxx" It read.

He felt himself smile as he now had something to look forward to.

Kelly sat in the taxi eagerly holding her phone hoping he would reply. Eventually it rang.

"That's great baby. I'll come round this evening. Can't wait to see you. Big kiss X"

She smiled as she read it and re read it. It still however didn't help the decision that lay ahead of her.

Kelly arrived home in the early afternoon that day to an empty apartment. She unpacked her things giggling a little to herself as she put her clothes in the closet and remembered that whole fiasco of Peter hiding and David nearly finding him. It made her wonder if maybe it would have been best in the long run if David had caught them. At least she wouldn't be forced to choose between a promise she had made and a man that she so desperately wanted, but wasn't sure she could have. Well not completely anyway. She stripped off her clothes and stepped into the warm shower, refreshing herself from her flight. All she could do was think.

She so desperately wished that she could just have Peter and live happily ever after, but they lived in the real world, not a fairytale. Her mother had always told her to go with her heart and she had to admit right now her heard was screaming PETER! However, her head was telling her David. Less people would suffer that way. What was the right thing to do?

Peter fiddled about the house all day as he waited for the evening to arrive. He watched his kids playing in the garden for a while. All he could think about was how much he loved them. But then how much he loved Kelly. His biggest fear was that this was going to come down to a choice between the two. He just didn't think he was strong enough to make that choice. He ate an early dinner with his family, rushing his food as six o'clock approached them.

"You're going out?" Paula asked as he put on his jacket and headed for the front door,

"Yeah I already told you. We are having a guys night with the guys from work." He lied.

"Okay. Will you be late."

"Probably, Don't wait up." he said as he grabbed his car keys and went to leave.

"Love you Daddy" Katherine shouted as he turned.

"Love you too sweetheart" he returned before racing out the door to his car.

Kelly sat on her couch as the clock approached six o'clock. Surely he would be here soon. She had prepared herself thoroughly enough for the conversation that was about to take place, but she didn't have the answers she needed. She figured she would broach the subject and find out Peter's frame of mind. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a light knock on her door.

Peter was nervous when he stood waiting for her to open the door. When he heard her turn the lock to open it he took a deep breath. He wasn't exactly sure what she would be thinking about the whole situation. They really needed to talk it through.

"Hey" she smiled warmly as she met him.

"Hi Baby." he said as he hugged her and walked inside.

Well he's still calling me baby, she thought to herself, that has to be a good sign.

"why is this awkward?" Peter broke the silence.

"I don't know. But it shouldn't be."

Peter nodded in agreement.

"We just need to talk this through" She continued.

Again he nodded in agreement. Noticing he they were still standing at opposite sides of the room. "How about we start again?" he asked as he closed the gap that lay between them.

When he reached her he took her face in his hands and whispered "hi" before his lips were delicately pressed onto hers. He prolonged the kiss for a second before he pulled away again but held his face in very close proximity to hers.

"Hi" she whispered back with her eyes still closed.

Peter seized his opportunity as he again kissed her before she had the chance to open them. This time he begged her for entrance to her mouth as he used his tongue to question her. She gave him his wish as she slowly parted her lips and they swallowed the familiar taste of each other. Kelly's hands moved to the back of his neck as she willed him closer to her. Their kiss deepened and their passion soared.

"I want you so bad right now" Peter whispered as he broke the kiss and his lips found her neck briefly.

"Okay," she nodded. "but we'll talk after?"

He pulled his head out of her neck and looked deeply into her eyes as he nodded yes.

They found their way to her bedroom as they never broke their kiss. Both scared to let go in case it wouldn't continue. Whatever this was, whatever was between them, was definitely spurring feelings deep within both of them. It would appear to any outsider as true love.

Peter pulled Kelly's top over her head as their lips detached for the first time. She then did the same with his. She could already see his arousal through his jeans as she desperately tried to open the button. Peter's lips met her neck as he nipped every little spot he could, paying a particular attention to her favourite and most sensitive spots. She wrapped her arms around him, completely lost in his touch. She craved him so much.

They soon parted their jeans from their bodies as they took a new position on the bed. Peter lay between Kelly's legs pressing his fully hard groin against her groin. She let out light moans as he gently grinded himself against her. Both were breathing erratically as they become more excited. Peter worked on her bra next as his lips crashed into hers once again in long wet kisses, not so much rushed, but desperate. Kelly found herself moaning again as his hands found her breasts and his thumb gently ran over her nipple hardening it beyond belief.

"Peter, soon" she managed to mutter between kisses and harsh breaths.

He smiled slightly loving that he had her so turned on she had to ask him.

He moved down her body kissing down, her neck, her chest, down the space between her cleavage, over her stomach and then stopped when he reached her lacy underwear. His hands soon found the sides as he pulled them down her legs leaving her completely naked. His boxers soon followed before he crawled back up to kiss her lips. She moaned as she felt his tip at her entrance, she reached down and pulled him further onto her forcing him to enter her. Each let out a gasp as he filled her insides. Once they adjusted he began slowly pulsating into her, gradually increasing his pace. It wasn't long until they both climaxed. And they did it together in synch as a harmonic cry filled the room.

Peter's naked body collapsed onto Kelly's as she stroked the back of his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. As she thought about the difference of that and her experience with David the other night. With this man, Kelly could never fail to have her orgasm. They both lay there in a comfortable silence giving each other wee kisses here and there until they both let sleep over take them.

It wasn't until really early the next morning that they awoke. Peter first, as he noticed the time and had to wake Kelly. Not that it mattered but he should get home before it got too late. If Paula asked he would just tell her that he slept over at Adam's or something. He turned and placed a light kiss on Kelly's lips lifting her from her slumber. They both got up and dressed and then settled in the living room for coffee.

"Peter, we need to talk about this" Kelly was the one to now break the silence.

"I know, but I don't know what to say."

"Well what are you thinking?"

"What am I thinking?" he said, "I'm thinking that I really don't want you to marry this man ever, never mind in a few days!" he blurted.

Kelly didn't know what to say. Last night while Peter lat asleep in her arms she had thought everything through. She had been undecided of what was the correct path to follow, but last night felt so right, so meant to be. She couldn't deny that for herself. She truly loved Peter in a way that she never loved anyone before, so if she had to make the decision, his would be the name she'd choose.

"I would leave him for you" she said quietly, but it caught his attention.

"You would call of the wedding to continue this with me?" he asked not sure whether he was surprised or not.

"yes." she spoke passionately "I would call off the wedding and leave David to be with you." she paused as she saw his smile, "but, I won't give up everything to be your bit on the side Peter. I love you so much and I know you love me. I would leave him to have a proper relationship with you and nothing else."

"so you are asking me to leave my family." he said with a raised voice.

"I guess I am. Just like you just asked me to leave David."

"But you can leave him in a heartbeat because it's only him. I have kids. Be a little more reasonable"" Peter said as he stood up from the couch.

"Yeah I could leave him in a heartbeat for you! But I will not, I repeat, will not stand for being your bit on the side! That would be unreasonable." She was now shouting angrily and frustrated.

"You don't know what your asking me for."

"I'm asking you to love me the same way I love you! But obviously that isn't going to happen!"

"I do love you" both of them were shouting now.

"Yeah! Enough to have me be lonely for the rest of my life unless you are here needing someone to screw because you can't get it from your wife!" She screamed at him.

Kelly didn't care as the tears ran down her face. She thought he really loved her. If he did he would have at least considered the possibility of wanting to be with her. How could she be so stupid!

Peter stood there in shock. He had Never seen her like this before, so upset. He loved her he really did, but also loved his kids. He already had a binding commitment to them, as their father. He didn't want to betray them.

"Calm down" he softened his tone.

"Don't!" she shouted as he made his was forward to her.

"Ah Kel come on"

"NO PETER!!" she caught a breath before continuing. "If you don't want me or love me enough then fine. I'm going to marry David"

He was about to speak when she interrupted.

"Because I will not spend the rest of my life alone, I've already done it for 40 years. If you had no intention of this becoming anything then you should never have let it happen in the first place!"

She attempted to wipe her tears away as she felt more fall from her eyes.

"You're making a mistake" he tried again.

"Not as big a one as I will be if I give it all up and then you give up on me. I can't handle that!"

"What do you want me to say?" he asked feeling at a loss.

"Nothing. I want you to say nothing." she raised her head to look him in the eyes "just leave. We're done! Go back to your family that you love so much."

Peter was defeated. He couldn't find the words to say. He wanted to tell her that she meant the world to him and that he did love her more than anything, but he just couldn't, not with the images of his children running around their garden, or shouting they love him as he left the house, stuck in his head. He turned away took his keys and left her flat. Hoping she hadn't just meant everything that she said.

He drove home in a daze. He couldn't believe that in ten minutes he had just lost the one thing that made him happiest. Maybe, he told himself, you should have thought about that when she told you she'd give everything up for you.

Kelly watched him leave. Her sobs still escaping her lips and the tears still staining her cheeks. He didn't want her. Well not as much as she had thought he did. She could have killed herself for what just happened. Would she not rather be his bit on the side than have none of him at all? Probably, yes, but it was wrong. She wiped her tears and calmed her breathing before picking up the phone. She was not going to end up alone. It was one situation that scared her most.

"Mindy, hi, Kelly." she began. "Listen the wedding has been moved forward for 8 days time. Can you still be my maid of honour?"

**Okay so I know you are probably hating us right now lol, but there is still lots more to come with this fic. But please keep your reviews coming,**

**Go on you know you want to press the button!**


	9. Chapter 9

**First of all we want to thank you (again lol) for all your great reviews - they make us reeeeally really happy and keep us motivated!!! We hope you enjoy this chapter and aren't too ...mh...shocked :-P Much love x**

Peter was depressed. Kelly was confused and sad. Melinda was excited beyond believe about the wedding. Paula pretended to not notice her husband's behaviour. David was still waiting in Canada.

After the phone call with Melinda Kelly felt slightly better. Melinda's excitement was almost contagious and Kelly couldn't help but think that it was maybe really time for Peter and her to end this - whatever it was. He told her that their relationship wasn't as much for him as she thought it was for her and it was probably good this way- now she finally knew who was the right man for her, knew where she stood. And more important she knew where she was going to stand in 8 days : She was going to be at David's side - the man that loved her and wanted to spend his whole life with her- The man that had enough courage to really be with her and show the world that Kelly was his - and only his. In 8 days.  
Until then Kelly had a lot to do and she was more than glad that she had such a good friend as Melinda. She could really tell her everything - or almost everything. She trusted her - Melinda undertood her - she was just the best maid of honour Kelly could ever hope for.  
Melinda told Kelly they should better start tomorrow with all the stuff they had to do because it wasn't easy and knowing that Melinda was really experienced with wedding-organisation she made her to her official "wedding-planner". They made a date for tomorrow to start deciding on things like her dress, the cake, flowers and so on...  
Kelly couldn't help but smile when she went to bed that night - she now was almost excited about marrying David - or at least she told herself that she was every secound since the moment Peter Gallagher had broken her heart.  
-  
Peter felt like crying when he drove home alone. Reaching his house he left the car and took a moment to just look at the house he had spent his whole life in. With his wife. With his kids. With his family. He thought about all the moments he had shared with his family there and had to smile through his tear strained face because he realised that his family wasn't just his family anymore - they became his life. He still couldn't believe what he said to Kelly and how he had hurt her but when he whiped his cheeks and looked up and saw Jamie smiling and waiting for him at the window, he knew he had done the right thing. The right thing for his family. The right thing for his _life_.  
And probably for Kelly's as well. Even if David was really the ass Peter thought he was - he'd never hurt Kelly as much as he had.  
When he entered his house Jamie and Katherine came running towards him and gave him a huge hug - the best medicine there ever was for Peter.  
"Why are you crying daddy?" Katherine asked and kissed his cheek. Peter just smiled at her and whiped his cheeks dry once again while saying "i'm just so happy that i'm finally home with you two". And it was true. It was one thing Peter was really sure about: Peter did the right thing for his kids.  
-  
The next day Kelly was in the bathroom getting ready for her important shopping-date with Melinda. She looked into the mirror and was trying to fix her hair when she caught the shower in her eyes. She smiled slightly but then looked down when she remembered Peter sneaking into the shower the morning she had to fly to Canada to meet David. She remembered how happy they were. How good his arms felt around her. She shook her head slightly and looked back up, continuing with doing her hair because she knew she had to get past this man as soon as she could to be truly happy.  
When Kelly suddenly heard a car horn she smiled, remembering how excited Melinda and her were yesterday on the telephone- that day was gonna be fun and it was definitely the best distraction from Peter there could be.  
-  
"Good morning, may I help you" a shop assistant greeted Kelly and Melinda the minute they entered the bridal-shop.  
Melinda grinned and answered "Yeah that would be fanatastic cause my friend here" she motioned to Kelly "is going to get married next week and needs a dress that makes her look like the most beautiful women in Canada! Or say she needs a dress that shows how beautiful she already is.  
Kelly smiled and rolled her eyes.  
The shop assistant smiled politely and then led the two of them to the dresses "Have you thought about how much your dress should cost, miss?" the assistant asked.  
Kelly just shook her head, that wasn't really something she had to worry about "No..I think..." she started but Melinda interrupted "Please show us the best you have, we really don't have to worry, she is going to marry David Thomp..." Melinda said but Kelly hit her ribbs with an elbow so Melinda would stop. Melinda just said 'ow' and looked at Kelly who mouthed an "so modest" and rolled her eyes which caused them both to giggle.  
"Yeah just show us the ones you think are best for me" Kelly smiled politely and the shop assistant nodded.  
-  
"KELLY DO YOU NEED ANY HELP?" Melinda yelled impatiently. Kelly disappeard at least 10 minutes before in one of the cabins to try on her first dress.  
"No thanks, four women are enough to help me to get in one dress but thanks Mindy" Kelly replied lightly and Melinda giggled along.  
5 Minutes later Kelly finally yelled "okay are you ready" and Melinda sighed "ive been ready for 15 minutes, sweetie" and laughed.  
Kelly waited for a dramatic pause before she nodded so the two assistants opened the curtains of the cabin and Kelly stepped out carefully to not fall over her long dress.  
Melinda gasped when she saw her "oh my god, girl, you look gorgeous".  
Kelly smiled and turned around "I feel like a princess. I used to love trying on mum's dresses when i was a little girl".  
Melinda smiled and got off of her chair to take a better look at her best friend "you _are_ a princess".  
Kelly felt great and now was even more excited about the wedding- David told her he hoped it was worth picking a dress out here in LA and he was going to be stunned when he was going to see her walking down the aisle.  
One of the shop assistants soon joined them in admiring the dress and helped Kelly to move a few steps, while asking "Do you like the material, miss?"  
"Yeah i love it. It's really comfortable and soft" she said and slid her hand up and down the material while returning the smile that she saw in the mirror.  
"If you are not happy with the dress' lengh or size we can easily change it" the assistant told Kelly and she nodded.  
"Would you like to try on the next one, miss?" the shop assistant asked after a while and Kelly was about to say "no" because she was more than happy with the dress she was wearing when Melinda answered for her "yes".  
Kelly just looked at her "Don't you...like that one?".  
Melinda smiled and shook her head "honey i love that dress but you should try a few dresses to decide what's best for you, believe me! Sometimes you love the material of one dress but don't like it's shape. Sometimes a dress shows too much cleavage and the other one too less. You can easier tell what you want your dress to look like in the end the more dresses you try on"  
Kelly nodded understanding and then followed the assistant back into the cabin to try on the next dress.  
-  
Peter spent the whole day at home, playing with his kids, cooking for them, just trying to spend as much time with them as he could to think less about Kelly and the decision he made and if it was right or wrong.  
He was glad that it was still weekend and that his kids were home and could spend time with him for so long but they eventually had to go because their friend's birthday-party was today. Great, Peter thought but didn't show how sad he was because he didn't want to ruin their happy mood.  
He offered Paula to drive and she happily agreed with his suggestion and let him drop their kids off.  
Later when he returned home he thought he was alone at first but the minute he closed the door behind him he heard his wife yelling from upstairs "Honey?".  
Peter sighed. He had hoped to have some minutes of peace to himself so he could think about what to do. "Yes, I'm back" he yelled back and made his way into the kitchen when he heard her once again "Come up honey, we need to discuss something".  
"Could the day be any better?" Peter muttered to himself but then made his way upstairs and into his bedroom.  
He saw the door was closed so he took one last deep breath and then took the door handle in one hand and turned it to enter the room.  
Peter slowly opened the door and entered his bedroom. He was shocked when he saw his wife lying on their bed - only wearing lingerie.  
"Hi" she said seduceviley and pulled at his hand so he had to rest on his knees on the edge of their bed.  
"What are you doing?" Peter asked. He couldn't remember the last time Paula wore lingerie for him or even WANTED to have sex with him  
"What does it look like i'm doing?" she said and pecked his lips.  
Oh my god, Peter thought. What am i going to do now? She made all these efforts just to make me happy and to spend time with me, Peter thought sadly, I can't just reject her. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve me - an unfaithful man that betrayed his family.  
"Everything okay, honey?" Paula asked when he didn't move from his position "Don't you want m..." she tried to say but Peter already covered her lips in his "Of course i want you".  
He knew he had to try it. Not only for Paula but for his sake as well. He knew if he wanted to spend his life with his kids it was always including Paula- that was the reason he had to leave Kelly in the first place. _Kelly_. Another reason why he had to try and hope it was going to be like it was earlier with his wife- when they first started dating - the first years of marriage- the first times he made love to her. So he tried not to think about Kelly when he let his wife opening his shirt buttons one by one and felt her kissing his neck.  
He tried his best to please her and maybe even please his own body but he couldn't concentrate just on her like he could earlier in his life. Everytime his wife kissed his neck and he could just see her mass of blonde hair, he thought about Kelly and imagined her doing these things to him. Everytime he closed his eyes and felt tiny hands, slipping into his boxers, he thought it was Kelly touching him. But still - he knew he couldn't and didn't want to sleep with Paula, pretending it was Kelly. He couldn't and that wasn't meant in the way he didn't want to - he truly _couldn't_ sleep with her so he put her hands away and softly pushed her head out of his neck to make her look into his eyes. He saw the hurt in her eyes when she asked "Is something wrong". He saw her looking down to his boxers that didn't show any sign of a bulge.  
He thought once again about Kelly. One passionate kiss from her was enough to turn him on to the point of no return.  
And Paula was here, wearing sexy langerie, kissing his neck, touching his most sensitive spots...and he felt nothing. He really couldn't sleep with her. Before anything happened with Kelly, he never had a problem to sleep with her (maybe once a month). But now it was so hard for him to concentrate so he just answered "Sorry. It really has nothing to do with you" he explained, trying everything to not hurt her feelings.  
Paula just looked down "What's the matter then Peter?.  
Peter brought his fingertips to her cheek- he felt really bad now. "It was just a hard day and i'm.." he started but Paula interrupted "I understand i just thought we could...spend some time together".  
He brushed some strands of hair behind her ear and then said "I know and im sorry".  
She still looked down and took the hand that was brushing the hair out of her face in her's "You just worked so much and we didn't really have time for each other in a while...".  
Peter once again looked down. He hurt a woman he loved (in a special way) again and he felt like crap for it. Everything he did was hurt the people he loved most.  
Here she was lying and really wanted to have sex so he thought if he couldn't, didn't mean she didn't want to so he decided to be not selfish for once and slowly kissed her.  
Paula was surprised but definitely wasn't complaining. Peter slowly kissed down his wife's body until he reached her sexy thong, pulling it down.  
He then pleasured his wife in the way he new she needed without betraying himself. He saw it as a new start. A new start with his wife and a new start of a life that didn't include Kelly Rowan.  
-  
"Oh my god a piece of heaven" Melinda moaned jokingly.  
Kelly giggled and tasted a piece of the cake herself "Mhh that's wow".  
Melinda smiled and said "I think if we try another one i can roll to work tomorrow so we should probably stop". Kelly once again giggled along and nodded agreeing "yup definitely. I think i want the last one" she said and looked at Mindy who had her eyes still closed. Kelly laughed "i take your expression as a yes i love it too".  
Melinda nodded and said "so.. we are done for today aren't we?".  
Kelly nodded "Yes we have the dress, now the cake, we looked through some magazines so David can pick out his suit and we picked out the flowers. I think we did a good job today, Mindy, thanks for your help, you are the best" she said and kissed her friend's cheek. Melinda grinned "ohh i had fun, too, Kel and im so looking forward to the wedding- it's gonna be awesome".  
Kelly just smiled back at her. It will be awesome. Everything was right: she loved her dress, she loved the flowers, she loved the suits she picked out for David, she loved the decoration and colours and she loved the food and cake. But there was one thing she didn't love about her wedding: _Her soon-to-be husband_, but she would never admit it to herself or anyone else.  
-  
Later that night Peter was sitting on the couch, pretending to watch telly. After Paula was satisfied he was glad to have an excuse to leave the room: He had to pick up Katherine and Jamie. When they returned home they had dinner and then Paula and him took them to bed. Both kids fell asleep soon after and Paula went to bed herself after giving him a long good-night-kiss. At least she was happy with the way the day went today.  
So now he was sitting there, not knowing what to do. He felt so torn. It was just one day and he missed Kelly like crazy. He felt like he couldn't breathe without her - couldn't live without her. But on the other hand he always had the images of his kids in mind- they'd be so disappointed and sad if he'd leave their mother. He knew he loved Paula in a way he couldn't really explain but he knew he wasn't happy with her anymore. A single tear prickled down his cheek when he thought about his life.  
He made Paula and his kids happy with his choice, but he had hurt Kelly and in his eyes it was just as bad as if he would've hurt his family. Kelly now felt like she wasn't worth to be the woman on his side. The truth was he felt like he wasn't worth to be the man on her side - at least not anymore.  
He got a fright when he saw a shadow at the wall suddenly but quickly whiped his cheeks when he saw it was his daughter.  
"Kathy, sweetie what are you doing up so late?" Peter asked and welcomed his sleepy daughter on his lap who cuddled into him.  
He put his arm around her and then heard her answer "couldn't sleep".  
Peter kissed her hair and then lay his cheek on her head "nightmare?" he guessed and she nodded.  
"Why are you sad daddy?" his daughter asked and Peter just said "ohh it was nothing, baby, don't you worry".  
Katherine looked up at him and kissed his cheek "you sure? if it is a something...just make the problem go away because i hate seeing you unhappy. Everything i want you to be is happy, daddy".  
Peter just smiled at her and kissed her small lips "I know sweetie and now we are going upstairs to get you tucked up in bed or mummy will be not really happy in the morning if you are tired".  
Katherine nodded and took his father's hand to lead him back upstairs.  
-  
That night Kelly and Peter went to bed pretty late, both having so much going on in their head that it was hard to just sleep.  
Both rolled over in bed for hours, both thinking about each other.

But one thing was different in the way both fell asleep that night. Peter cried silently next to his wife while Kelly's lips were curled into a light smile. Peter thought he made one of the most horrible mistakes he ever made. His daughter just told him she wants him to be happy. Happiness meant Kelly. And he had just hurt her so it was probably too late for him to talk to her and tell her that he was scared but that he loved her more than anything and couldn't live without her even if it meant leaving his family and seeing his kids not every day.  
Kelly was still hurt and missed Peter so much but on the other hand she thought about her day with Melinda - it felt great and she was truly happy - even without Peter.  
Maybe it was the sign that showed her that Peter and her did the right thing even if they fought. It was right that way, she told herself.

So they fell asleep in a different way: While Peter cried because he thought he made a mistake and thought about how he was going to fix everything, Kelly fell asleep with that smile plastered across her face, thinking she was finally ready to marry the man that was meant for her and that truly wanted and needed her the same way she needed him: _David Thompson_.

**Please tell us what you think !!! Thanks x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay so this is from where we left off last time.**

**Hey everyone! Jen and I once again want to thank you for reviews. I just want to say that I know the last few chapters have been dramatic and some stuff has happened that people aren't very happy with, but it's a fic and Jen and I have had all this planned since the beginning, life is ever perfect sop why portray it as that in the story? It would be untrue to only write good stuff and have no contrasting bad moments, that's what makes the readers come back for more and want to see what happens. So we really hope you enjoy this next chapter. Love to all.**

**-**

Peter awoke the next morning with his eyes stinging slightly from a mixture of his secret crying the previous night and lack of sleep. He groggily climbed out of bed and headed into the shower rubbing his eyes as he went. Last he remembered before falling asleep was him contemplating leaving Paula. He remembered Katherine telling him that all she ever really wants for him is him to be happy and he knew Jamie would be the same. He let the hot water run slowly through his hair and down his back. It was so soothing, the only thing better would be to have Kelly in there with him. He thought about how he was gonna have to see her at work today. Part of him hoped there would be a Sandy/Kirsten scene to be shot.

After he got dressed he wandered downstairs to find Paula feeding the kids their breakfast. He didn't stop for coffee, he just grabbed slice of toast from the table and shouted bye as he headed for the door. When he turned round for another glance he smiled at Paula's interaction with the kids. Maybe they didn't need him as much as he thought, maybe they would be alright if he didn't live with them full time.

Kelly awoke that morning sort of dreading going to work. She knew that Melinda and Rachel would be going on and on about the wedding and she didn't want to rub it in Peter's face, after everything she had shared with him about David, she was sure he now had the wrong impression of her. She climbed out of bed and dressed in jeans and a simple top that was v-cut down the front. She grabbed her purse and keys and headed to work.

Kelly sat outside in the car park almost afraid to leave her car. She was suddenly nervous, she knew her and Peter would have to be civil with one another because the others would be there and suspicions would rise if they were weird. She wondered if they would have to do a kissing scene. She couldn't decide is she wanted to or not. Either was it was gonna be hard having not seen each other since their fight and break up. Kelly really hoped that that dreadful day hadn't completely ruined their friendship.

As Peter entered the building he knew she was already there, well her car was. He went to his dressing room and got changed into his Sandy Cohen business suit before heading down the corridor to the room where everyone was discussing something.

"Hey, what are we talking about?" he asked cheerful trying to be involved.

"Kelly's wedding" Rachel chimed "her and Melinda have finally got it all organized, It's going to be fantastic!"

Peter nodded slowly and sadly as his eyes caught Kelly's. Kelly looked up into the mirror from where her make up was being done and immediately caught eyes with Peter. Apart from sadness she couldn't read his thoughts.

"Okay Peter and Kelly are up first" came the producers voice from behind the group. "Quick as you can please!"

Kelly let out a quiet sigh before getting up and walking past Peter to the Cohen's living room.

"Okay we aren't going to bother with any lines just now we will do that in a different take later, I just need you to kiss on the couch and end up with one of you on top of the other." Josh said only receiving small nods from both of them.

Kelly sat there nervously waiting for "action" as she thought about having to kiss him. Peter sat down next to her as he read her nervousness and he decided to take control,. He didn't care he had missed her lips, her scent, her taste so much.

"Action"

Peter turned to Kelly and put his hand on her cheek smiling slightly within himself. He was getting to kiss her. He tried to look into her eyes and tell her how much he wanted this but she deliberately closed them too quickly so he didn't have the opportunity. The scene they were shooting was supposed to be an apology from Sandy to Kirsten, quite appropriate, Peter was going to use this to his advantage.

He slowly closed his eyes and brought his lips closer to hers until contact was achieved. He kissed her little to begin with before deepening it and opening his mouth, all he was waiting for was her, Eventually and cautiously Kelly opened her mouth as Peter slipped his tongue inside. Peter grazed his tongue over hers enjoying her taste, happy to be kissing her, to his delight she seemed to be co-operating. He slipped his hand down her neck and arm before resting it on her side. This was what made him happiest he thought. Finding it difficult not to get completely lost in him, Kelly tried to tell herself that she was only acting as she felt his body move and push hers back on the sofa. Once he lay practically on top of her, the only thought filling their heads was the exact same one. A memory. Their memory…their first night together…which began in a very similar position.

"Cut!" The director yelled "okay guys that was perfect, very realistic. Take a break"

Kelly and Peter flashed him polite smiles before Kelly pushed Peter gently enough off her and got up, leaving him and the room behind.

Peter sat there on the couch watching her leave. He didn't think he could bare to see her walk away from him one more time. He headed back to his changing room where he lay motionless on the couch, one million thoughts filled his mind. After that experience of kissing her, those lips, he was sure that was what he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing. He would die without her in his arms. Peter now knew what had to be done for him so have some semblance of happiness ever again. He left his room telling Josh he was ill and had to go home. He knew Paula would be in.

Kelly returned from her dressing room feeling that her and Peter should talk and hopefully at least agree to be friends. Despite everything she didn't want to lose him completely, but then if he was always around temptation would always be a factor, look how easy it was the first time. So actually was it better if they didn't spend time together at all, only for work purposes? She didn't know.

When she returned to the set Josh told her she could go home because they needed Peter for the rest of her scenes and he was gone. Gone? Where the hell has he gone? She thought to herself.

"Mindy, Where did Peter go?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not sure. I think he had to see his wife." was her reply.

Of course he did. She thought to herself unable to help herself from becoming slightly jealous. She grabbed her purse and headed home to pack. She was almost at the point of no return for her.

Peter drove up his drive slowly not sure to be scared or relieved when he saw that Paula's car was in the drive. He knew the kids would still be at school, so it was a good time, well there is never a good time to do this, but now was best.

"It's now or never" he told himself as he opened the front door and entered, heading for the kitchen.

"Oh hi" Paula greeted him as she met him half way.

"I need to talk to you" he said looking at the floor, indicating that it wasn't anything good.

She perched herself on the arm of the sofa as she waited for him to continue. Her stomach turning within itself, she was afraid of what to come.

Peter breathed a deep sigh and began with "I'm not happy"

Paula nodded. "I know, I can tell, it rubs of on the rest of us."

"I know. Which is part of the reason why I'm doing this"

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Leaving" he whispered a she now looked at her.

Paula found herself to be not as shocked at she should be. She knew something had been bothering him for a while, but she didn't expect him to come out and leave them.

"We can't fix it?" she asked sadly making him feel terrible.

He gently shook his head. "Paula. It's nothing you've done. I love you, I do, and I always will but…"

"There's someone else" she finished for him in a sudden realisation. How had she not noticed before?

Again Peter just nodded. As he looked back up to meet her eyes he saw a tear fall down her cheek. He hated that he was the cause of that pain.

"Who?" she asked.

"Kelly." He wasn't going to lie to her. She didn't deserve that.

"Wow I'm losing to the most beautiful woman I've ever seen" she said feeling slightly unworthy of him "I guess compared to her I'm not worthy of you" she was the one to look down now.

Peter gently walked towards her, hating the last words she muttered. He placed his finger under her chin and used it to make her raise her head and look at him.

"You are worthy of the very best. I just…you deserve to be happy, and so do I. But like you said I'm preventing both of that from us if I stay here." he was sure to keep eye contact with her.

"Does she make you happy?"

"Yes" he whispered.

"Then you should be with her." Although it pained her to say it, she he was right. Also she wasn't sure if she could continue being his wife anyway after knowing he had been with another woman.

"What about the kids?" she asked.

"I will come by and explain it all to them." He said louder than he had spoken previously.

"But you are still going to see them. Come to their things?"

"Of course!" he was slightly offended that she felt the need to ask. "they are still my kids. Nothing changes that!"

Paula nodded slightly as she looked down again. She was fighting the urge to let her tears fall, but she couldn't help it any longer. She allowed streaks of tears to roll down her cheeks and off her face, not really caring if he felt guilty because of them. Her guess was he already felt guilty.

Peter stood there watching as Paula bit by bit fell apart. It was he had to admit more timid than the break up with Kelly. Kelly! Oh God he had to get to her and tell her that he loves her. But he couldn't just walk out on Paula, he needed to make sure she was alright. He felt tears welling up in his own eyes as he watched her cry.

"So do I have to move?" She asked him.

"Move?"

"yeah after all this is your house, you bought it."

"No." he shook his head adamantly "it's OUR house, we lived here. It's the kids' home." he paused "I'll move."

She just nodded. If she had had to move then she wouldn't have known what to do. But inside she knew Peter wasn't that man. The man that divorces his wife and leaves her with the kids and nothing else. He was too kind for that, and he loved his kids too much.

"Do you want a…a…a divorce?" She stuttered through her cry.

"Yes" he now hushed his voice to a whisper again as he felt more guilt.

Paula stood there. She thought she could feel her heart literally breaking.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

"So am I"

Peter enveloped her in a hug that she was more than happy to accept. One last hug as his wife. She buried her face in his chest as she let her tears continue their journeys. She was going to miss him.

Peter wrapped his arms around her one last time as her husband. One of his hands stroked her hair as he sighed. He kissed her head as he pulled her out his arms. It would only make it harder for her, and for him, if it lingered for too long.

"I have to go." he said as he wiped a tear from her cheek. "Again, I'm sorry."

He turned around to walk away.

"Good luck…with Kelly." He heard her say. Her tone, was sincere.

Peter nodded his head slightly as he left the house. When he reached his car he just sat there for a moment thinking about everything. The hardest part was over, well perhaps not, he still had to try and win Kelly back, but he truly believed he had done what was necessary for everyone. He inhaled a deep breath before he fastened his seatbelt and left the drive, noticing Paula watching from the window.

Paula stood at the window, the crystal tracks of her tears still evident. She watched him leave, almost hoping that he was going to run back in and say he had changed his mind. Once he left she decided to have a bath, they always made her feel better. No doubt it would be difficult without Peter and she was going to miss him like mad, but she just wanted him to be happy. That was the beauty of knowing and loving someone as long as she had him, Although the end was painful, because she cared so much about him she took peace from the fact that he would be happy again. The one thing she did not condone however was his dishonesty while he cheated on her. Who knows maybe one day, she herself would meet someone else and be happy again. She lay her head back against the bath and closed her eyes breathing in the aroma that surrounded her.

Kelly scrambled around her apartment collecting everything she would need for her trip to Canada. All that kept filling her head was Peter and David. She knew she had already made her choice, and she thought she had been coping well with it. Until today's kiss. She wasn't sure if she could live with kissing him at work and having stir things up inside her, especially not after she married David. "Stop being stupid Kelly" she told herself "you are going to marry David and you are going to be happy." After all, it was Peter that chose his wife. She needed to let him go, or she couldn't be happy.

As she gathered her bags she heard the taxi waiting outside. She took a breath knowing that this was the last time she would be here as an un married woman and prepared for the large change in her life. She headed to the door.

Peter raced through the streets to Kelly's. He was on a truth chain and didn't want to break it. He had to tell her. He had to try and get her back. Before she, well before it was too late. When he arrived at hers he saw the taxi sitting in the drive. He raced up to the door and just as he reached it, it swung open.

"Peter!" Kelly was surprised to see him. She stepped out motioning him back so she could lock the door.

He looked at her. Oh how he loved her. Then he looked down and noticed her rather big bag.

"Where are you going?" He asked confused.

"To Canada. You know, to get married."

The look on his face said it all but she tried not to notice. "Let him go, let him go" her head kept telling her.

"Excuse me" she said as she went past him towards the taxi.

"Wait I wanted…"

"I don't have time Peter. I'm gonna miss my plane. We'll talk when I get back" and she turned away.

He stood there slightly shocked by her rudeness but gutted that he never managed to get out what he wanted. No he changed his mind, he had to get it out,

"I just wanted to tell you I love you" he said in a defeated but reasonably loud voice.

He stood watching her, as she didn't turn around and kept walking. The taxi driver put her bag in the boot as she climbed in. Not looking back.

Peter ran his hand through his hair. "she didn't hear me." he could have cried.

Kelly climbed into the taxi, tears running over her cheeks as he said the three words that she would have given anything for. She waited until the taxi pulled out from the driveway and around the corner before she wiped dry her cheeks. Never looking back.

"Let him go."

**-**

**Well that's it for another chapter. We hope you liked. Much more still to come of course.**

**Please press that button and give us your opinions if you have a spare moment. We love to receive them. Especially how we lost all the ones from before. Much love 3**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys!!! So we hope you dont hate us after that chapter. As we said: We planned this whole fic from the beginning and we are going to write it the way we planned - there are a lot of surprises to come, but you have to be patient with us ;)**

**We hope you still enjoy this story! Much love xx**

Kelly's journey couldn't have been more confusing. How did Peter manage to make her doubt her relationship with David again? She was happy. She wanted to marry him. David was the right man for her. That's what she kept telling herself.

After an exhausting 6 hours the plane finally landed and after getting her baggage, she made her way to the limo David had sent her and climbed in, sighing happyily.

She was glad that David's - or their house-to-be - wasn't that far away from the airport because she couldn't stand to be left alone with her thoughts any longer.

Arriving at "her" house, Kelly thanked the driver for carrying her bag inside and she then made her way inside herself to greet her soon-to-be-husband.

At first she couldn't hear or see him but when she peeked her head around the corner to the living-room, she saw him sitting on the sofa with his back facing her.

"Honey, I'm home" she whispered softly to not startle him and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind.

"Kel" he said surprised and quickly turned around with a huge smile on his face - something that made her feel better immediately.

"I am so glad you are here" David said when he got up from the sofa and out of her grasp to be able to kiss and hug her _hello_.

Kelly smiled and clasped her hands behind his neck "Me,too. I missed you" she whispered giving him another hug which he broke almost the second she had embraced him.

"So darling i picked out the suit if you wanna know what it looks like" David said getting out of her grasp.

"Uh yeah sure" Kelly whispered, a little disappointed that David always had to find an excuse to brake their loving embraces - something that was rare anyway.

"Okay so make youself comfortable and i'll be there in a few" he already yelled from upstairs before disappearing into _their _bedroom.

Kelly smiled slightly. She could almost _feel _his excitement through the walls - and she felt over the moon because of it.

The first few days of their life together with her as his fiancé, he had shown no sign of happiness or nervousness because of the wedding - she felt nothing but coldness instead of excitement. But hey that's the past, she told herself.

Sighing she leaned back on the sofa, feeling herself getting more impatient each second which showed her that _she_ was truly excited, too.

After 15 minutes David managed to arrange himself with his suit and made his way into the living-room, seeing Kelly still sitting on the exact same spot.

He tip-toed over the floor until he was directly behind her and then clasped a hand over her eyes for a moment to signal her that he wanted her to wait until he told her to open her eyes, while he whispered "soo...3..." he started, slowly making a few steps around the couch. "2..." he continued, taking another few steps. "1..." he said excited and stood now almost in front of her. "OPEN YOUR EYES" he said happily and saw Kelly smile when she allowed herself to do what he had told her.

"Heey handsome" Kelly said lightly and giggled "that was one of my favourites, too" she said smiling. Maybe they weren't a bad match at all.

"It was?" David asked smiling and received a nodd in return.

Kelly started laughing when David jumped around the sofa to entertain her AND show her his suit. She laughed her head off at him and his funny expressions every now and then - that was a sight she had never seen before and she had to admit - she loved this _new_ side of him.

After another few moments Kelly got up from the couch and said "Oh honey i almost forgot, did u arrange everything with Mindy and the others?"

David looked slightly confused for a moment before he nodded "oh yeah sure, she takes the 4pm-flight and will be here at 9 or 10" he started and then said "but do you really believe in that 'don't see the bride in the night before the wedding cuz it ruins your luck'-crap?". David laughed but Kelly's expression made him shut up after a few moments "David yes i do believe in this crap as you put it and it's important to me if you want it or not" she said slightly frustrated.

David quickly nodded and then was about to leave the room when Kelly stopped him "Don't you wanna see the pictures i took with Mindy in LA? You know the cake and flowers and what about the guest-list and..." she started to say but David interrupted "sorry darling I have a lot to do - i bet it's gonna be fantastic - it's not like it's my first wedding anyway..." he said and Kelly looked down when she heard the sound of his foot steps disappear "of course not, it's just your third wedding, nothing special" she whispered to herself but then shook the thought out of her head and started moving around the house to unpack her stuff and get everything ready for tomorrow that wasn't already done.

--

"MINDYY" Kelly yelled cheery and hugged her slightly exhausted friend at 10:00pm in Canada.

"Hey Kel" Mindy smiled and kissed her best friend's cheek.

"How was your flight?" Kelly asked and stepped aside so the guy that was carrying Mindy's bag could get inside along with Melinda herself.

"Oh sir, please stay here for a few moments and don't carry it upstairs- we are going to leave in a few- thank you a lot" Kelly said adressing the man with Mindy's bag and handing him a 100$. He nodded and with a "No problem, miss, good evening" he left the house and then drove away.

"My flight was umm long" Mindy stated and then giggled along with Kel before she said "you are excited or is it just me?".

Kelly grinned shyly and then said "I am happy and yes i am excited if that isn't an understatement".

Melinda smiled but suddenly turned serious when she saw her best friend's fiancé making his way towards them. It was the first time Kelly and Melinda noticed that it was actually the first time Mindy, Kel's best friend, met David.

"Hello, Miranda? I'm David" David introduced himself and offered his hand which MELINDA took, smiling politely "Hi Daniel" she said laughing to herself when she remembered Peter calling him that way - if he wanted to play the Miranda-card she could easily play the Daniel-one.

Kelly just stood there and tried to hide her giggle - typical Mindy.

"Uh David" David corrected her and Melinda smiled "Right, hi _DAVID_ i am _M-E-L-I-N-D-A_".

"Right, so you are Kel's best friend" David stated not caring that he got her name wrong.

"I sure as hell hope so" Melinda said lightly but David's only response was a forced smile and a nodd.

"And you are her fiancé - i heard a lot about you" Melinda continued politely but noticed for the first time: It was a lie - Kelly had practically not talked about him at all.

Kelly still stood between the two of them and let them have their fake-talk with their fake-smiles and their fake 'Wow that's interesting'-looks.

After a few moments Kelly excused herself, claiming she would get her bag from upstairs so Mindy and her could head to the 5-hotel David had booked for them for tonight, and left two of the most important people in her life alone in the hall.

-

Melinda couldn't help but wonder why Kelly picked David. Not that he wasn't handsome and had good manners but there was something about him that just seemed strange and made Mindy feeling slightly uncomfortable. Kelly was someone that laughed all the time, that was always kind no matter how depressed or bored she was. Kelly was someone incredibly intelligent and a beautiful person- from both the out and inside. In David she could see nothing of this but maybe it was because she didn't know him- but hey she was going to have the rest of her life figuring out her best friend's _husband._

After a few minutes of thinking Melinda interrupted herself because she noticed that there was just an uncomfortable silence left between them and didn't want to be rude by looking at him for minutes without saying anything. Trying to be polite Melinda faked her best smile and got David's best in return before she broke the silence "So David you are excited?" she asked and David nodded, so Mindy continued "You must be over the moon to have Kelly on your side" and the only response was another nodd - "wow that man is full of passion" Melinda thought sarcastically when she only received nodd after nodd.

Another silence filled the air and Melinda started to get frustrated "what's my problem? Or what's his?" she thought and wondered why she had these problems to have a nice talk with a man that was going to be a big part of her life as well! She was always an open person, always kind, never speechless- but this guy was definitely an exception but maybe she just hadn't seen what Kelly saw in him.

-

"Ready" Kelly yelled happily and excited when she jumped down the stairs with a bag in one hand and a plastic bag with her dress in the other.

David and Melinda both looked up surprised and smiled at her expression - she looked truly happy.

"Great" Melinda and David said in exact synch but instead of laughing about it they tried to not notice- it was just akward.

"Okay i heard a car horn so im gonna go out and let this penguin put our bags in the boot so you two have a few minutes to yourself" Melinda said, took Kelly's bags in her hands and then did exactly what she had told them. Kelly and David just looked at each other not knowing what to actually say.

"So honey, i guess i'll see you tomorrow then" she started and David nodded "Yeah". Smiling one last time, Kelly kissed his mouth briefly, whispered a 'good night , i love you' and then left the house. David stood there and instead of waving, he just shut the door, turned around and resumed doing his paper-stuff.

-

"OH MY GOD" Melinda gasped when Kel and her entered their hotel-room. "What?" Kelly asked and flung herself on the bed after throwing her bags into a corner (but being veery careful with laying down her dress).

"What? Haven't you seen that room, Kel? Open your eyes - that's that's..oh my god. I mean we should be used to these kind of rooms but omg" Melinda said open-mouthed.

"Yeah it looks nice" Kelly agreed and looked around the room before closing her eyes.

"Nice" Melinda laughed shaking her head "That fiancé of yours really wasn't modest was he". Kelly chuckled "Mhh maybe he isn't and maybe he is a rich man, but" she said but Melinda interrupted "Rich? Kel he is in the top 10 of the richest men in the world". Kelly rolled over on the bed and propped herself up on one elbow to be able to look at her friend "okay but i dont care about his money and i dont care how many presents he got me or where he lives...".

Melinda nodded and started unpacking her clothes while she decided to ask Kelly finally out about her soon-to-be-husband.

"So, girl, how did you two meet?" Mindy asked and Kelly bit her lip for a second.

"Umm... ah right! I was visiting my mum in Canada and David's house isn't that far away and i heard about a function-thingy for kids so my mum and me went to this house , which was just by the way David's, and so we were introduced to each other by my mum's friend, who was JUST BY THE WAY, David's aunt and yeah well that's how everything started" Kelly told her smiling. Melinda sighed exaggerating and said sarcasticly "ohh how romantic".

Kelly giggled and then heard Melinda continue "is he good in bed?" she asked abruptly and made Kelly gasp.

"Wow now that's a change of subject" she replied laughing slightly nervous.

"Well sorry but friends tell each other everything" Melinda replied and giggled along - she really didn't wanna make her friend blush - she just wanted to know what was so special about him that made Kelly think he was the man that was worth to spend the rest of her life on her side.

"Yeah..." Kelly agreed and tried to hide the light pink on her cheeks. "He is...uhm...okay?!" she said more like a question than a statement.

Melinda's eyes widened -thank god Kelly couldn't see her face from her position. He was 'ok' ? Who the hell said that about his/her fiancé?? She expected the words 'incredible' or at least 'good'...

"What now?" Kelly asked noticing her friend's silence that lingered a little too long.

"Oh nothing" Melinda said but Kelly was already sitting up on the bed "What?" she asked again.

Melinda just shook her head "I just wondered..." she said letting her voice trail off.

"Why that?" Kelly asked a little worried about where this conversation was headed- did she say anything wrong?

"Uhm you know...i just thought uhm that... you...would sound a litte more..uh happy?! You know about that 'department'" Melinda explained blushing herself- What made this conversation suddenly seem so akward? They talked about everything.

"I..I..I am happy" Kelly said hesitantly and saw Melinda turning around and raising her eyebrows at her.

"What?" Kelly asked again "You dont believe me?".

Melinda stopped unpacking and made her way next to her friend on the bed "It's not about that but Kel, seriously, you've had other serious boyfriends before and believe me...when we talked about our or say your sex-life you sounded definitely more..uhm satisfied".

Kelly looked down to the floor and knew what her friend was talking about. She decided that she could tell Mindy the truth it wasn't like she didn't trust her.

"Well...you know.. it's okay ...it's...I I can't really explain it with him, with Peter it's so different but still David isn't the worst man i ever..." she started but Mindy interrupted shocked "What?".

Kelly looked at her for a moment until she understood. She had mentioned Peter. Before saying anything else, Melinda did "Did i imagine you saying Peter - Peter like our friend and colleague, Peter?" she said and still looked at her open-mouthed.

The first thing Kelly did was nodding "Yes i said Peter. Im sorry".

"Wait...wait now why are you sorry?" Melinda asked clearly confused.

"I slept with him" Kel whispered quielty.

"When" Melinda asked without taking really in what the thing her friend just told her actually meant.

"It doesn't matter" Kelly said.

"Okay then what happened?" Melinda asked her further out.

"I donno everything happened so...i donno it was ...it was just a bad mistake, but it isn't important anymore" Kelly said sadly and tried to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"So it was just once?" Mindy asked, trying to understand the situation.

"No..not...not exactly but...you know it was...it was nothing..." Kelly lied - not just to Melinda but also to herself.

"Okay well...you dont wanna talk about it?" she guessed and received a shy nodd in response.

"Uhm k Kel i donno what to say but if u say it was nothing and it's definitely over than it's fine with me uhmm...i trust you guys" Melinda said smiling at her friend - but secretly being shocked about these news because she didn't know if she could really believe Kelly about the 'it was nothing' - part.

It was true: she was once again just speechless. But she trusted Kelly and her choices and she trusted Peter and if Kelly chose David or it was even before David then it should be okay with Melinda as well as long as her friend was happy, what she was, right?

--

Kelly and Melinda spent most of the night talking about their lives , the changes of married-life and their 'boyfriends' (husband / soon-to-be-husband).

They talked about their friendship and they talked about everything that lay before them . Kelly told Melinda her personal vows for David like a million times just to be sure she remembered everything and they laughed and cried about happy and sad memories - but there was one thing neither of them mentioned again that evening: Peter.

After hours full of laughing and sharing memories and sharing secrets and fears Mindy and Kel finally slipped into their PJs and then cuddled themselves into the bedsheets, both drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Peaceful - for Melinda. Kelly couldn't help but thinking about Peter but on the other hand she knew she couldn't have him and knew that she had promised to make David happy - Kelly was his.

--

The next morning Kelly and Melinda woke up at the same time got themselves dressed and ready and then headed to the church. They both sneaked into the room at the back of the church to get Kelly into her dress and style themselves before everyone would arrive. Kelly had called a few people that did her hair beautifully and helped her into her dress while Mindy and some other friends of Kelly all dressed in lilac dresses and did their hair curly.

At least two hours later Kelly was nervous beyond words and suddenly felt her tummy turning - 'great now im feeling sick because of this wedding - if that's not a good sign' she thought to herself sarcastically and sat down to sooth herself and her sore stomach.

"Are you ready Kelly?" one of her friends asked and she smiled up at her and nodded before standing up.

"Yeah i'll be right there, you can tell everyone to take their position" Kelly said kissing her cheek.

Her friend did as she was told and everyone except for Mindy and Kelly took their position in the church to be ready to walk down the aisle in front of Kel.

"How are you feeling, doll?" Melinda asked and Kelly sighed "I just felt so sick, i hope im gonna survive this ceremony".

Melinda giggled "dont worry that's normal - you are just worried - i mean your whole life is going to change- everything you knew is gonna be different- you are forever connected to someone and..." she said but Kelly interrupted "you trying to ruin this wedding?" she said and they both laughed.

"You are right. Come on. We are ready for this. YOU are ready for this. Everything's going to be wonderful- I saw David and he looks amazing and so proud" Mindy told Kel smiling and took her hand in his.

"All right. I'll be right out there , give me one minute to myself" she said and Mindy nodded before she left the room.

Kelly was left alone. Left alone like she was yesterday during her journey to Canada. Left alone with her thoughts. Her thoughts about the one man she couldnt have: _Peter_.

She knew that she couldn't lie to herself: She loved him and she probably still was crazy about him but she knew as well that there was a man out there that supported her, that wanted her, that loved her, that could be so lovingly ...and most importantly that wanted to marry her. And she knew she would need time to forget about Peter but she knew as well that she would have the rest of her life to love David as much as she should and learn to think like a married woman should think about her husband- she knew she could try at least and _try_ to be happy.

"Goodbye Kelly Rowan" she whispered to herself, saying goodbye to her old life, saying goodbye to her old self and most importantly saying goodbye to alife that included _Peter_.

She took one last look at herself, gave her mirror a reassuring smile and then stepped out of the room and right into the church where she took her position behind the others. Hearing the music starting, Kelly knew this was it - she forced a smile onto her lips and then started to follow all her friends step after step to her very soon to be husband and the alter to get married.

-------

After Peter watched Kelly disappear he thought he had done the wrong thing. Appearing here... stopping her for a few minutes...was right! But he should've told her eye to eye that he left Paula and that he loved her. He felt like an idiot for letting her leave again...

Not wanting to waste another minute he pulled his cell out of his pocket and then called the number of his private yet, hoping desperately that it was ready to start SOON.

After the 5th ring and still no answer Peter started to get really nervous- what was if there wasn't a chance to...

His thoughts were interrupted by a "Hello, Private Jet Gallagher?".

"Hi! It's me Peter, Tony how long you workin' today?" he asked hurriedly.

"Till 9 Mr.G" he answered politely.

"Okay that's good how long do you think you'll need till Canada?" he asked and heard the other man chuckle "Why are you asking sir? Trying to escape the police and leave the country?". Peter really wasn't in the mood for jokes "Very funny. No just tell me how long it would take".

"Well the weather is a bitch to fly in today so...i think we would make it maybe till tomorrow after-noon, Sir" he answered and Peter gasped "WHAT? AFTERNOON? Cant you fly...i donno isnt there another way?? I need to be there in the morning!!!" he almost screamed into the phone out of frustration.

"Im sorry Sir, of course I could try but..." he started and Peter interrupted "okay, please get it ready- i'll be there in half an hour!".

"Half an hour? Is Mrs.Gallagher travelling with you and what about you baggage?" Tony asked taken aback by the sudden instruction of his boss.

"No ill be alone and i wont have anything with me so please just get it ready" Peter asked whispered a thanks and then closed his phone shut.

He sighed. He knew if he wouldnt make it in time- the love of his life was going to marry a man that definitely wasnt the right for her just because she thought that he was the only one that wanted her.

But the truth was he loved her more than anything and he wanted to give her everything.

-

"What time is it?" Peter asked for the millionth time in 5mins but Tony remained calmly and answered politely "8:30 am , Sir".

Peter started biting his fingernails- something he never did in EVER.

He really needed a distraction...

-

"What time is it now?" Peter asked and got the same answer as 5 seconds before "10:27am , Sir".

"OH MY GOOOOD HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE? I NEED TO BE IN CANADA AT 11:40!!!!" Peter yelled and started to freak out.

Tony pushed him back into his seat and tried to sooth him "I donno Sir but we are doing our best".

"ok ok ok breathe Peter breathe" he told himself. He had a horrible feeling: A feeling that he was losing this one thing that made him happiest and he loved most in the world right that very moment.

-

"WHAT FREAKIN TIME IS IT?" Peter asked almost an hour later.

"Sir, please sit down we are going to land in a few minutes".

Sighing relieved Peter sat back. But then it hit him: It wasnt like Kelly would be getting married right at the airport.

"TONY RENT ME A CAR" Peter gasped out loud and Tony nodded "of course Sir" he said and made a few calls before giving Peter a nodd.

Peter thanked him and then sat back down, hoping desperately to arrive in time.

-

When the jet finally landed Peter literally ran towards the rented car, handed the driver some cash and then drove away as fast as he could. It wasn't like he hadnt been in Canada before but he wasnt an expert either.

After at least 30 minutes driving Peter knew he would have to hurry hurry hurry up. He was already 5 minutes later than Kelly wrote on the invitation for her guests.

He didn't even care about the speed limits or if it was red or green- he didn't care - he just drove as fast as he could to the church he knew Kelly wasn going to get married in.

-

Peter finally arrived at the church knowing he was at least 15 minutes late. He was never in his life so scared before: What was he if he was too late? What was if she truly chose David and really loved him more than Peter thought? What if Peter screwed everything and hurt her so badly that he made her hate him.

Shaking these thoughts out of his head, Peter parked the car, locked it halfheartly and then ran towards the huge doors of the church, not caring about what was he going to say or what was going to happen in a few minutes: Everything he knew was he loved Kelly more than anything, that she was his life and that he needed to tell her at least that.

He pulled at the huge doors and they opened soundly. When Peter stood there in the middle of the entrance and felt at least 800 pairs of eyes on him, 2 of them the most beautiful in the world to him, he knew it was _now or never._ Everything he got out was a breathless "Kelly" but when he looked around and noticed Kelly was holding David's hand he thought he was too late. They were already on the holding-hand-part, maybe they just changed their rings what meant they were already husband and wife.

_"Am i too late?" _he asked helplessly and with tears in his eyes as he looked directly into those beautiful sad eyes that made him forget everything around.

!!!Okay that's it. So once again: Sorry for all the drama but the next chap will be...say _different !_ We really hope you dont hate us for this lol :D !!! Please tell us what you think. Much love xx

Jen & Ally


	12. Chapter 12

**hey everyone!!! Thanks so much for your reviews! Okay so we know there has been a lot of drama but it's part of the appeal. **

**So here we go again. Is Peter in time?**

**-**

Peter stood there motionless and frozen to the spot in the silent room with only one sight in his interest. Kelly.

Kelly's heart jumped and her breathing stopped in her throat the moment she saw Peter at the door his piercing blue eyes catching hers. Why was he here? Was he here for her?

"Am I too late? Did I miss it?" He said sounding slightly defeated.

Kelly thought she felt her heart sink completely. He was just here to watch.

"No you didn't miss is, just interrupted it. Hurry up and find a seat." David instructed bitterly from next to Kelly.

Peter moved his eyes to take a quick glance at David. This was who she was marrying?

"No thanks." Peter said as he caught Kelly's eyes again and began walking towards them. "I'm not here to watch, " he continued swearing that he saw her eyes gleam and brighten up a little bit. "I came to stop it."

"I beg your pardon!" David almost shouted from his spot. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Peter Gallagher, and I love Kelly" okay it sounded better in his head when he practised it on his was down the aisle towards her.

David's face turned pale. As all that could be heard from around the silence filled room, were gasps of disbelief and shock.

"What?" David said in an angry tone.

Peter ignored him and still he looked at Kelly.

"Kelly, I love you. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let you go. I've left my wife and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please don't do this. Don't marry him."

Kelly didn't know what to say. She was completely speechless. Was this really happening? Maybe she was just dreaming, either way what was she supposed to do? Kelly's eyes searched around the room desperately attempting to find an answer, she knew in her heart she wanted Peter more than anybody, but she couldn't just forget about David, the man standing opposite her at the alter ready to become her husband.

Melinda watched feeling helpless, not sure whether she should intervene. She was as shocked as anyone when Peter burst through the doors. He loved her though and from her friends expression it was evident that she deeply loved him too. So it was deeper than a fling, an affair, in fact their feelings were so intense that Peter left his wife, his kids Melinda thought to herself. Looking from Peter pain ridden and hopeful face to David's angry and impatient one. Of the two Melinda knew who would give Kelly the life she deserved.

Kelly wracked her brains desperately searching for the correct words to say. "I want you to leave now" she vaguely heard David tell Peter. Helpless she found herself turning to look at her best friend and maid of honour. As she caught gazes with Melinda she felt her friend hand on her back as she whispered in her ear and then kissed her cheek.

"Kel, this is your decision. Whatever you decide I'm here for you. But just be sure to follow your heart, "she used her hand to move Kelly's blonde hair out of her face "otherwise you could regret it forever."

"I'm not gonna ask you again, please leave." David said conjuring all of what was inside him to not loose his temper.

"I am not leaving, not unless Kelly can tell me she doesn't love me too." Peter resorted.

"Kelly!" David shouted at her snapping her out of her daze. "Tell him"

Kelly felt the lump in her throat increase, she never thought this would be her wedding, or something she would live through never mind be the cause of.

"I'm sorry, " she whispered while looking at the ground "But I love him too"

"Excuse me!" David shouted not quite hearing her.

"I'm sorry David…" she spoke

Mustering up all the courage inside her and turning to look at Peter, seeing the small smile across him lips as he heard her previous words. The audience in the church all sat there, breaths held in anticipation as they awaited her next words. Some wedding this turned out to be.

"…but I love Peter."

Kelly count help herself, She threw her body into Peter's arms as she clung tightly to him for a moment.

Peter's face lit up as he felt Kelly hugging him tight. He gently kissed the side of her head as he let a tear drip down his cheek.

"I love you so much Peter" Kelly whispered in his ear so that only he heard.

"I love you too, and I am so sorry that I let it get to this far before I made that truly known to you."

David's face turned to one of shock and complete rage, it actually scared her. "Since when!" he demanded taking a step closer to her.

"It doesn't matter" she said quietly as she broke her embrace with Peter and looked back at David.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT DOESN'T MATTER! OF COURSE IT BLOODY MATTERS!" David lost his temper. "SINCE WHEN! ANSWER ME!"

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK TO HER LIKE THAT!" Peter shouted back in anger.

"I'll speak to her however the hell I want!"

Kelly watched as David enraged Peter even more. Standing right next to him she could see the little veins popping out of his head and how his posture changed as he stood there fighting for her.

"NO. If you loved her you wouldn't." Peter calmed himself hoping to take the heat away from the scene a little.

"I did love her!"

"Yeah as your babysitter!" Peter raised his voice again.

"YEAH! WELL NOW SHE'S YOUR TO LOVE AS THE GOLDIGGING WHORE THAT SHE IS!" David spat in pure rage as he got close to Kelly's face.

Melinda, gasped is that all she ever meant to him? Yeah she might have cheated on him, but he cheated on her too. He made her believe he loved her when evidently he didn't in the slightest, he was the one that had broken her heart.

That was it Peter thought. Nobody! Nobody was going to talk to her like that. Peter acted on his impulse as he grabbed David by the collar pulling him away from Kelly. Clenching his fist tightly closed he lifted his arm ready to swing.

As David felt Peter grab him, he knew this had gone too far. When he saw Peter raise a clenched first he lifted his arms in defence as he covered his face.

Peter saw as David lifted his arms in defence protecting his face. He wasn't worth it, why be the bad one.

"Coward!" Peter spat as he pushed David away out of his grasp making him stumble backwards.

Kelly looked down at David, all he looked to her now was pathetic. She wondered if she actually meant anything to him.

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is?" David shouted at Kelly once again. "What this is going to do to my business."

Peter was about to step in again when he felt Kelly hand grab his arm and stop him as she took a step towards David.

"Screw your business David." she said in an angry voice "and screw you."

She turned away and took Peter by the hand as she walked back up the aisle, undoing the steps she had taken earlier that day as she lead him to her dressing room behind the back of the church.

David stood there dumbstruck as he looked around at the hundreds of face still looking at him. His best man stood nest to him as he attempted to pull David away from the scene.

"GET OFF ME!" David yelled at his friend "GET OUT! EVERYONE JUST GET OUT!"

David sat down on the step as he watched the guests leave the church. The only people left were his two teenage daughters who held their baby brother.

"Do you have any idea how bad this makes me look." he spoke as they approached him.

"I know you thought she would be an asset to you Dad, but you are better off without her."

Escorted by his three children David left the church.

-

Peter followed Kelly outside the church and round the back into a small building that held the dressing rooms. He was so ecstatic with the outcome of the wedding. Although he felt guilty that Kelly had to go through that and be humiliated on front of all those people, but it was worth it. He had her, she was his and he was hers.

Kelly rushed to the dressing room as she pushed open the door and entered leaving Peter to close it behind her.

"I have to get out of this dress" she said over a couple of times as she frantically pulled at the zip at the back.

"Hey, hey, calm down baby." Peter closed the door as he walked over to her.

Kelly let out a sigh and stopped fighting her dress as she looked up into Peter's eyes.

"Hey" he whispered as he tilted her head up with a finger under her chin.

"Hi" she whispered back with a small smile as she closed her eyes.

Peter watched her close her eyes before he bent his head down and his lips found hers for their first kiss since that fateful day when they separated.

His hands fell to her sides as he pulled her closer into him. Smiling through the kiss as he felt Kelly's hands slip up his chest and clasp behind his neck. As the kiss continued Peter stroked along her bottom lip with his tongue hoping that she would grant him entry, when she did he seized the opportunity for his tongue to meet hers immediately as they brushed against one another.

The kiss was sweet and passionate. Personal. It was the beginning of something great they hoped and so far it was Perfect. Kelly found herself completely lost in Peter's touch, everything from the feel of his tongue against hers to their chests pressed close together to his hands caressing her back. This was what she had dreamed and fantasised about for so long.

When they kiss ended Peter pulled back and stared into her eyes. He gently lifted his hand pushed her hair out her face before stroking her cheek.

"Baby, we are officially a couple. Just you and me. Together." He could of cried as he said it.

Kelly smile at him really widely. "Forever" she whispered as she reached up to kiss him again.

"Could you help me out of this dress?" She asked him a moment later indicating to the zip. "I don't want to wear it for a moment longer than I have to."

Peter just smiled as she turned in his arms and he pulled the zip down for her. Kelly felt her skin shiver as she felt Peter's hands slip down the bare skin of her back as he pulled down the zip. Once the zip was fully down Pete stepped back in admiration as it slipped easily off Kelly's arms and down to the floor pooling at her feet. Peter stood there looking over her body as she was now only presented in her silky underwear.

Kelly felt slightly self-conscious as she let her dress fall to the floor, as anxious as she was about Peter viewing her almost naked again she didn't want to wear that dress for another moment. She turned back round to face him as she tried to avert his gaze, her only tactic was to kiss him.

Peter closed his eyes as he felt her lips on his once again. He was in heaven, he didn't think he could have ever been this happy again. As she kissed him Peter let his hands wonder over her bare stomach as his tongue roamed her mouth. It wasn't until he ran his fingers over her breast that he felt her pull away.

"Peter, do you really wanna do this here?" she asked quiet and breathless.

"Oh baby, please." he kissed her lips once more pulling her into him and allowing her to feel what she had been doing to him. "I've waited ages to have you again, and now that I do I don't want to wait another second." he kissed her again as a small grin approached her face. "Is that a bad thing?" he whispered,

"No" she shook her head as she closed her eyes and leaned into him more.

"I love you"

"Oh Peter, I love you too."

His lips were upon hers once more. Kelly quickly tackled the buttons of his shirt longing to see his body. His lips found her neck as she pulled his shirt off his shoulders and dropped it to the floor. Peter's hands wondered up her back as he unclipped her bra, her nipples hardening between his fingers as he played with them. Kelly moaned in sheer pleasure under his touch. Next to go was his trousers, desperately Kelly fought with the belt until finally she loosened it enough to push them down his legs waiting for him to step out of them.

Guiding them backwards Kelly pulled Peter towards the sofa that sat in the corner of the room, falling back onto it she skilfully pulled Peter down on top off her as she landed on the soft cushions. Both giggling they looked at each other, both so overcome with happiness. Peter's lips pressed themselves onto hers again, fitting perfectly between hers as he pressed his groin down onto hers making her moan.

Kelly allowed herself to moan out loud as she felt Peter's full hardness mix with her dampness. She wanted to let him know how much she wanted him as she audibly shared the pleasure she was encountering. Peter's hands wondered all over her as he massaged almost every inch of skin, It wasn't until he reached the silk panty line on her waist that the reality of the situation hit her. She was lying here, with Peter Gallagher on top of her, about to make love to him. It was so surreal, for the past little while she hadn't even allowed herself to think about how Peter was with her because she was having to adjust back to David's standards.

Peter moved his kisses to her neck as he slipped his hand beneath the hem of her panties. He grazed his hand over her skin teasing before going anywhere near her folds. As soon as he did he was rewarded by the brilliant sound of his name escaping his lovers lips. He slowly dipped two finger into her as he couldn't hold himself back any longer he wanted to give her every ounce of pleasure he could.

"Peter please, I need you now" she begged him not too much later.

Peter lifted his head out of her neck as he took in her heavy breathing and dilated eyes.

"Please baby, I'm so close, I want you inside."

Peter just smiled as he removed his hand and instead used it to pull her panties down her legs and then discard them on the floor. By the time he replaced himself on top of her his boxers were gone too. Peter gently pressed his groin to her groin as he kissed her lips once more. Kelly wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him further down to her as he entered her slowly. Each little inch sending some pleasure soaring through them. As Peter grinded into her the sounds she was making spurred him on. He buried his head in her neck as her walls clamped around him bringing them both to the edge. As their orgasms hit they yelled each other's name out simultaneously in ecstasy.

Peter collapsed onto her not putting too much of his weight onto her though. He placed a few light kisses over her neck and shoulder as he tried so savour the moment for as long as possible. Kelly regulated her breathing as she ran her fingers through the hairs on the back of his neck.

After they redressed they checked themselves into the hotel room that Melinda and Kelly had shared the night before and for the first time in ages they both had a sound night's sleep, curled up in each other's arms.

-

"Morning baby" Peter beamed as Kelly opened her eyes after feeling him kiss her.

"Hey" she smiled up at him as he hovered over her.

"This is the first of many mornings where I will wake up next to you." his smile was the widest one ever.

"Yeah, " she said contented as she reached up and stoked his cheek with her hand. "And you can feel free to wake me up like that every morning if you wish." she giggled.

"Sure" he kissed her again." whatever you want baby."

Peter rolled onto his side as did Kelly so they lay in bed facing each other. Peter wished the covers were slightly lower on her naked body as he looked at the exposed area above her breasts. He rubbed his hand up her bare side as he looked over at her.

"So baby, " he began, "I was thinking about what we are going to do."

"well, what do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I am currently homeless, and I am planning on buying a place in LA." he paused to allow the information to register in her still sleepy brain, "I was wondering if you would maybe help me look, and then maybe you would want to move in with me?" he asked willing her to say yes.

Kelly let a grin creep over her lips as she heard what he was saying. Living together, she was sure she'd like that very much. Leaning over slightly she pressed a prolonging kiss on to his lips before nodding her head slightly.

"I would love to live with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah" she laughed "don't sound so surprised!"

Peter couldn't help but laugh at her. She was so adorable.

"But" she interrupted the giggles "I don't want you to just buy any house and then have me move in."

Peter looked confused as his eyes willed her to continue.

"What about it you move into my apartment with me" she saw him about to speak when she cut him off with her finger on his lips "for the time being, then we could look for a place together and it could be our house, as opposed to your house that I moved into."

Peter delight at her suggestion was evident as he grinned wider than any Cheshire cat.

"I think…" he said as he rolled them both over so he lay on top of her "that's a wonderful idea."

They both smiled up at each other as Peter brought his lips down to hers and they began round one of the day.

-

Later that day as Kelly and Peter lay on the sofa watching telly together they heard a knock at the door. As Kelly got up to answer she was happy to see her best friend standing there.

"Mindy!" she said excited as she hugged her friend tight.

"Hey Kel." her friend smiled back.

"Oh Mindy I can't thank you enough for what you did for me yesterday in that church and after wards, you know making sure the guests were ok and stuff,"

"well what are friends for huh?" she smiled as Kelly led her to where Peter sat.

"Hey Melinda" Peter said as she approached him for a hug. Melinda just smiled. "What are you doing here?" Peter asked still in a friendly tone though as Kelly sat close to him on the couch and linked her fingers with his.

"Actually I just wanted to talk to you guys, Yesterday was a crazy scene and I wanted to be sure you were alright. I can't believe you crashed the wedding."

"Well I was such an idiot and by the time I realised what I wanted, that was my only chance to get Kelly."

"Well you made it just in the nick of time" she joked.

"Yeah, when I came through those doors and saw them standing there I seriously thought I was too late and I can only thank God that I wasn't."

Although Melinda didn't agree with the way the whole affair had been handled by Peter, she had to admit they looked so happy and in love as they sat there on front of her. Of course Kelly couldn't be excused in this whole thing, she was as guilty as Peter, but Melinda couldn't bare to think what she would be like for the rest of her life if she had gone ahead and married David.

"How…ummm how long have you two…"

"Ummm the first time was when David was supposed to come through to LA, but instead he brought the baby and went out, Peter came round to help me baby-sit cause I would have gone crazy and couldn't cope with Leo on my own." Kelly answered honestly as she smiled almost proudly at Peter.

Melinda just nodded her head as she processed the information. "And when did it end?"

"The day I phoned you telling you that the wedding had been moved forward" Kelly admitted bowing her head guilty. "we had a fight because Peter wasn't sure that he could leave his kids for me."

Seeing that Kelly was getting slightly emotional Peter continued for her. "so we fought and broke up and then I realised after I lost her that she was all I wanted. I know it sounds all soppy and ridiculous but I loved her so much."

"So you left your wife and followed her to Canada where you crashed her wedding and won her back." Melinda finished as more of a statement.

Peter and Kelly just looked at each other as they tried not to giggle.

"Look Melinda I know you think it's probably all fast and sudden, " Peter began "but I really do truly love Kelly and I have from the start of this thing, it was never just an affair. I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Melinda couldn't help but smile as Kelly leaned up and kissed him square on the lips. It was such an odd sight when they weren't on set.

"I feel the same way about him too." Kelly pleaded really hoping her best friend understood.

"So what now? " Melinda asked again "where do you go from here."

"We want to move in together back in LA, well into my apartment until we can find a house together." Kelly spoke again proudly.

Again Melinda just nodded. This was a lot to consume.

"Mindy" Kelly looked straight at her friend. "You told me at the wedding to go with my heart and that you would support me no matter. Right?"

"Yeah" Melinda knew where she was going with this.

"So I'm doing this with Peter. But I need to know you are ok with this."

Peter tightened his grip on Kelly's hand as he watched Melinda struggle for words, a rare occurrence. He knew how much Melinda's friendship meant to Kelly so he understood her need for her friends companionship on this.

"Mindy?" Kelly snapped her out of her daze, "Do we have you blessing?"

-

**Hmmm will they get her blessing?**

**Well we hope you enjoyed this chapter, there's still plenty more to come, and we hope you want it.**

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**We love you xxx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys!!! So first of all Thank you very very much for your reviews. We are really happy that you still enjoy this story and kept reading it after that chaos with "The clock's ticking". Well and of course: Sorry that it took us so long to update - there were really a lot of things going on in our lives that kept us busy, but we promise we'll try from now on to update as often as we planned and said ;)**

**We hope you enjoy! Much love xx**

After a few moments of silence, that felt like forever for Kelly and Peter, Kel started to worry. What was if Mindy really wasn't happy about the news? What was if she had doubts about them and was even right? If Mindy really was against them, Kelly would need to choose between the love of her life and her best friend. Many people might think there was only one really important person in a woman's life but Kelly knew it wasn't true- she had definitely two soulmates.

Worrying, Kelly looked at Peter who looked back at her and squeezed her hand softly to tell her everything was going to be okay.

Melinda watched the two of them and had to hide her surprised expression when she heard her best friend asking for her blessing. How could she be possibly against them? She could see how happy Kelly - and Peter- were and if they'd take it as serious as they told her they would then they could definitely make it together- it wasn't like they were two lovesick teenagers that changed their minds about their partner every five weeks- they were adults and knew what they wanted. And it was obvious to Melinda that they clearly wanted _each other_.

When another wave of silence hit them, Kelly got nervous and impatient - it almost made - no wait, it actually made her sick.

Looking once again in Peter's eyes she felt him placing his arms around her. She really tried to relax but when she heard nothing but silence, she couldn't control herself any longer. She got up as quickly as she could and ran into the bathroom where she threw herself in front of the toilet to empty her stomach from everything she had swallowed the last few days...

Peter and Melinda looked at each other in shock when they watched Kelly running into the bathroom all of a sudden.

"BABY?" Peter yelled soon following her with Mindy in tow who looked slightly worried.

"I..I.I am fi..." Kelly tried to say before another wave of sickness hit her - oh crap. She didn't know why her tummy was so sore these days but she certainly didn't like all the stress and nervousness over the last few days, hours and minutes.

"Yeah i can tell baby" Peter said while kneeling down beside her. He brushed her hair out of her face while signaling to Mindy to give him a wet towel for Kelly.

Melinda made her way to the cupboard to get the towel for Kelly while Peter stroked her hair and whispered "what's wrong?".

After a few moments, Kelly looked up from the toilet and gladly accepted the wet towel Mindy handed her and washed her face and mouth.

She then looked up at Peter and her friend and said "sorry..I...just have a sore stomach these days... too much drama i guess".

Peter helped her up off the floor before he pulled her into him by her waist. The couple then looked at a grinning Melinda, wondering why she thought this situation could be anything but serious. When Melinda and Peter made sure Kelly was alright, Mindy started to speak:

"Come on guys, don't look that serious and please Kelly don't get sick about all of this" Mindy said giggling after a few moments of lingering torture.

Kelly and Peter looked at each other a little confused before they looked back at their friend, who continued to speak "Kel" she said, taking the hand that wasnt wrapped around Peter's waist in hers "you know i would never be against something that makes you happy and like it or not, Peter does just that. He makes you happy and i'm more than glad that you Peter" she said taking one of Peter's hands in her free one "are just as happy with her than she is with you" she finished and whiped a tear away that was rolling down her friend's cheek.

"Thank you so much" Kelly whispered and pulled Melinda into a hug with the two of them which she gladly accepted while whispering back "nothing to thank me for. I'm just happy that you two are happy".

"We are" the two of them said in exact synch after they broke the hug and the couple smiled at each other, both thinking the same thing: the worst part was over.

They sealed their success with a kiss before smiling back at Melinda who rolled her eyes playfully at the couple.

--

"So your sure you dont wanna just fly back with us tomorrow, Mindy?" Kelly asked her friend 20 minutes later, when they were sitting on the sofa in the spacy hotel-loby.

"No, but thanks guys but I really have to fly tonight... I cant let Jake alone with our daughter and I'm really not in the mood for another night in a hotel-room" Mindy answered, smiling back.

The couple nodded understanding before Kelly said "Okay so...then I guess you have to leave soon, but we'll catch up in LA wont we?".

"Of course, but I think we should probably wait a few day...you know the press and everything..." Mindy answered.

Peter sighed "I almost forgot about that... why cant we just be normal people for once" he said slightly sad.

"Honey, you were never normal" Kelly teased and kissed his cheek.

"Allright guys, Im gonna go and leave you two to enjoy your last few minutes alone" Mindy chimed as she made her way up from the sofa and towards her friends to say good-bye.

"Last few...minutes?" Kelly asked confused and looked at Peter to see if he understood - he certainly didnt.

"Well didnt you wanna get your stuff from David's???" now Mindy was the one confused.

"JESUS. I totally forgot about that" Kelly almost yelled in shock.

"Relax baby" Peter said rubbing her back up and down "we are having lunch and then we gonna get your stuff at david's okay?" he suggested hopefully.

"Okay" Kelly said and calmed down a little bit and smiled at Peter.

--

After lunch, Peter and Kelly were both lying in their hotel-room- bed after their 2-hours-private-celebration-party, that included lunch in bed.

They lay there in a comfortable silence, both snuggled closely together before Peter broke the silence with a gasp.

Kelly, who rested her head on his stomach, looked up at him while asking "what's wrong baby?".

"I...I..just noticed that..uh we kinda...sorta...maybe...say dont have any clothes???? " he said stroking her hair nervously.

After he finished his 2minutes-ramble about how he left everything at Paula's because he just wanted to follow Kelly to Canada and he didn't wanna face everything he left behind and they totally forgot about Kelly's stuff at David's, Kelly started to giggle softly until Peter asked why she was laughing at him.

"Honey" she started, looking back into his eyes, while turning so she rested on her side with her head still on his lower stomach "why don't we get your stuff tomorrow from Paula's and mine when he managed to get out of this bed from..." she said but stopped herself before whispering the rest "..from David's". For the first time, Peter actually noticed that it wasn't just him that left everything behind for her - even his clothes- she did all that for him as well.

"That's a good idea, sweetheart" he whispered lovingly and then smiled at her beautiful face. He giggled softly when he watched her grinning and turning so she could place kisses all over his bare chest.

"I can't believe we will live together" Kelly said smiling through the kisses. Her smile widened when she felt Peter's belly move underneath her because he started laughing "me either, you know today's the last chance to tell me that you don't want me to move in with you cuz you know honey...tomorrow.." he said and paused for a dramatic few seconds "i will be on your side forever and believe me i mean that literally - ill never let you go again".

Kelly smiled and stopped kissing his stomach, instead she propped herself up on her arms and crawled all the way up his body until she could catch his lips in hers.

After a passionate but lovely kiss, Kelly pulled away and smiled down at him "Glad to hear it".

--

"Ready?" Kelly asked Peter, even if she knew David wouldnt be there. He always was out and even if he was in because he, an actual human being (SURPRISE!), needed to eat something or take a shower- he would be right back out the next second. He barely was at home and especially not at 6pm - that was the time he always had a lot of meetings with investors.

"Well you said he is at work anyway so there is practially no chance to meeting him here so why shouldnt i be?" Peter explained, smiling at her before Kelly opened the huge house with her second key and pushed the door open.

"HELLO? IS THAT YOU, DARLING?" the both of them heard someone, someone male, someone that sounded a little bit too much like David, yelling.

Kelly froze to the spot, as did Peter. It couldn't be possible that he was here...right now...right that very day and very very moment. He was never home to this time of day - never.

"HELLO?" they heard him screaming again through the big house. Kelly almost didnt dare to look into Peter's frightened eyes but when she did, the only thing she could mouth was a 'sorry'.

Peter was just about to suggest they'd leave and come back another time, when David came bursting through the living-room-door. When David's and Kelly's eyes met, the look on David's face was priceless- he clearly didn't think she'd turn up again. However when David's eyes met Peter's, his cheeks turned red and his eyes were full of rage - it obviously scared Kelly when she took another step towards Peter and grabbed his waist for comfort.

"WHAT..." David started breathing deeply like he just ran a 50-kilometres-marathon. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he spit at Kelly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I...I..wan..wanted to get my..uh things" Kelly said looking at Peter who kept fixing his eyes on David but stroked her back with his hand in an attempt to calm her.

"YOUR FUKING STUFF???? DO YOU REALLY THINK I'D KEEP EVERYTHING I BOUGHT YOU, YOU GOLDDIGGING WHORE" David yelled and clenched his fists in pure anger.

"Dont you talk to her like that" Peter spoke up for the first time, his voice as chilled as a cold beer, but filled with hate instead.

"I'm just gonna get my clothes and then we leave, David, and believe me today's the last time you ever have to see me okay?" Kelly asked frustrated but the only thing David did was laughing sarcastically before taking a few steps towards the two of them "OKAY? YOU WANNA KNOW IF YOUR FUKING SHIT IS OKAY? HOW COULD YOU DARE TO SHOW UP AGAIN YOU DAMN BITCH HUH? I DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR CRAP AND I DONT CARE ABOUT SEEING YOU OR NOT- YOU EMBARRASSED ME IN FRONT OF EVERYONE- HAVE YOU READ THE NEWSPAPERS THESE DAYS? HUH HAVE YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE WRITING ABOUT US, ABOUT ME? YOU RUINED EVERYTHING KELLY EVERYTHING!!!!" he yelled until he was breathless.

That was enough, Peter thought and grabbed Kelly's hand with one of his and David's collar with the other, pushing him hard aside and then he made his way with her to the bedroom to quickly get her stuff before David would have the outburst of the century.

"God Peter, please just.. im just gonna grab the things i find and then please let us leave..." Kelly whispered to him and looked over her shoulder where she saw an angry David leaning breathless against a wall- about one thing Peter was definitely right: David was a damn coward.

After many many screams, 2 boxes, 10 plastic bags full of dresses, 15 pairs of shoes and an irritated couple, the torture of getting Kelly's belongings out of David's house was finally over and Kelly and Peter made their way exhausted but relieved outside to get back to the hotel to pack so they could finally leave Canada and finally move in together...

That was definitely the very last time they had to face David.

--

"Kelly i told Paula we would be there at 2 not 3:30!!" Peter yelled through the little appartment in LA the next day.

"Coming coming" was her response before he saw her appearing out of the closet and watched her slipping on her high heeled shoes.

"finally" he said sighing but smiled eventually when she kissed him instead of appologizing.

Kelly grabbed her purse and pulled Peter by the hand when she saw him starring at an old photo of her and David she forgot to take away "You coming?".

Peter chuckled and shook his head before he followed his _girlfriend_ outside "well okay then...sorry that you had to wait for _me_".

--

"You sure she went out with the kids?" Kelly said nervously squeezing Peter's hand with hers. "I mean, honey, don't get me wrong, I'd love to meet your kids..uh..soon but you know it's just that..." she started her ramble but was silenced by a gentle kiss from Peter "shh don't you worry- i know she is out with the kids and baby i know how your feeling okay? Please dont drive yourself crazy with all the stress- we have our whole life to figure out things and you have a lot of time to get to know my kids..." he said reassuringly and received a "thank you"-kiss from Kelly and a smile.

"Ready?" Peter asked again and pulled his keys out of his pocket. When he received a hesitant nodd from Kelly, he gripped her hand tightly with his again, before he opened the huge wooden door and stepped into the house, he had called home for half his life - now Paula's home - his kids' home.

When they entered the hall, Kelly felt this sickness rising up inside her again - she couldnt possibly feel any more uncomfortable - she was really standing in the house Peter had shared with Paula for all those years as her husband.

However when Kelly looked next to her and into Peter's eyes and saw the message they held, she forgot her problems for a moment.

Kelly used her free hand to stroke Peter's cheek and get his attention, before she asked "are _you _ready for this?".

The only answer she received was a sad smile from Peter and a peck on her lips before he said "to be honest... I think I should be more worried if i wasnt..uhm worried at all about this you know? It's gonna be hard but i've been looking forward to this day since...forever, because after that day we are officially together...a real couple - we really share our life with each other, live together...and believe me that truly couldnt make me any happier". Kelly smiled back at him, knowing what he said was right -of course it was hard to leave everything you knew behind, especially the people you leave... but it was just the same for her as for him : she couldnt be happier about the fact that they were finally making a proper commitment to each other. "Peter Gallagher and Kelly Rowan...maybe some day Kelly Gallagher" she thought and her smile widened "music to my ears".

"K sweetie, let's do it!" Peter exlaimed slightly cheepier - he was more than thankful for her and that she understood him better than anyone else in the world.

"No dirty talk, honey" Kelly tried to lighten the mood and was glad when she heard Peter chuckling and felt him kissing her hair.

"Oh _that _will have to wait till tonight. Now let's do the work!" he replied grinning and then pushed her in the direction of his ex-bedroom.

After climbing up the stairs, Kelly and Peter reached the door the both of them were afraid of - each for another reason.

The both of them looked one last time in each other's eyes, before Peter turned the doorhandle and pushed the door open that led to the room with the bed, he had shared with his wife.

The moment Kelly entered the room and looked around, she began feeling bad. Really bad. Of course she already thought about Paula and felt truly sorry and bad for taking her husband just away from her and breaking her heart, but when she actually saw the closet with the dresses she wore next to the suits for Peter..when she saw the bed Peter and her had shared and was the place where Peter and her did only god knows what - that was one part of Peter she really didn't wanna know - when she saw that photos of Peter still covered her bedsidetable but his was completely empty...she couldn't help but feeling horrible. Kelly saw that she really loved the man she now loved more than anything - she couldn't deny that she was over the moon, when Peter told her he had left his wife because that meant they could be together but she really felt sympathy for Paula right that very moment.

"Everything okay, baby?" Peter asked after a while when he watched Kelly looking silently at his empty bedsidetable.

The moment Kelly heard Peter's voice she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him "what? yeah...i..im fine...just wondered..uh...why...where are _your _pictures?" she asked, pointing with her head next to Peter's side of the bed. When he realised what she meant he looked a little confused himself- it certainly wasnt him that took all his family-pictures away. So it had to be Paula. But he couldnt actually blame her - it wasnt his bedroom anymore and he could understand that it was just too hard to leave everything the exact same way as before like nothing happened.

Peter took a long breath and then looked from her face down to the floor before whispering "I donno...I guess she put them away you know.. it was probably just..that she.. didnt feel comfortable around everything here anymore.. i mean everything changed for her and everything reminds of the old times" he finished sadly and Kelly could tell he felt just as guilty.

"Honey" she decided to speak and continued when he looked back up at her "dont do this to yourself. You tried everything to please everyone. You put everyone's happiness always before your own. But you had to make a choice and you told me that Paula understood why you were leaving - she knows that you didn't just leave without a second thought and just because you found a 25-year-old blonde whore that crossed your path and you slept with" she muttered almost to herself but then stopped, saying sadly "well at least she knows the 25-year-old-part isn't the case". Without wasting another second or hearing another of her words, Peter kissed her hard on the lips to get his point across and took her face in both his hands "Kelly. Honey. I really hope you don't mean what you just said. I know what we did wasn't actually fair or 'right', but honey we love each other and we have to be together to be happy- at least that's a lesson i learned these days... and please.. NEVER call yourself a whore EVER and i mean EVER again okay? You are a wonderful person and even if Paula and David might hate us for what we did, for what we cant blame them cause we didnt play fair these first weeks, i know you are an honest, kind and beautiful person- both on the outside and inside. You are anything but a...you know what... you just followed your heart and that is the only right way and you know it" Peter finished his speech and received a long and enjoyable kiss full of passion and love from Kelly in return.

"I know" Kelly whispered before kissing him again "I love you" she finished smiling and heard him whispering those words back before she felt his lips back on hers for another few moments of heaven.

"Now let's really get my stuff so we can finally move in together and forget the drama of the last weeks. Deal?" Peter suggested and made his way already to the closet.

"Deal" Kelly agreed smiling before she followed him into the closet and helped him folding his clothes.

--

After at least an hour, Peter and Kelly made their way out to Peter's car and sighed. Finally everything that was important to Peter was packed and filled almost his whole backseat and trunk.

"you got everything?" Kelly asked a little exhausted while she ran her hands over his chest.

Peter kissed her nose and answered "yep. We should really take the stuff to your appa.." he started but Kelly interrupted with a warm smile, while saying "our appartment".

He just smiled back at her and wrapped an arm around her back while she was still standing in front of him and said "right we should really get the stuff to _our_ appartment and leave David and every other crap behind us".

Kelly looked down at the mention of her almost-husband's-name. She really wished she would never have to see him again - but he already had a new 'darling' so why feeling bad about him anymore?

Peter kissed her forehead and hugged her for a few moments when he saw her sad expression. They then climbed into the car and made their way as discussed to their appartment to quickly unpack Peter's car and move him in.

--

"Thank god the day's over" Kelly sighed when she dropped herself on the couch and on top of Peter who was sitting on one end.

"Mhm what a day" Peter agreed and pulled Kelly tighter into his arms before he softly kissed her nose and made her smile.

"I'm sorry about the David-thing" she admitted after a few moments but was silenced by a gentle kiss. Peter just looked down at her lovingly and shook his head "none of this was your fault, baby".

"God what did I do to deserve you?" she asked and looked into his eyes, while stroking his cheek softly with one hand and his chest with the other.

"I donno... maybe you stole an old lady's seat in the train or something..." Peter joked and Kelly giggled along with him before she said "I'm serious.. I really dont know why Im so lucky..to have you. You always defend me, you always have the right words to say...you are so gentle and passionate in once... I think you are the first perfect person, god ever made".

Peter kissed her square on the lips to 'thank her'.

"Well baby, I dont know why that is but im grateful for you loving me the way you do, and i certainly think that you are perfect honey.. and you are without a doubt in the world the most beautiful woman i've ever seen and the woman that i love so much that i cant even find words for it" he replied and now it was him that received a gentle kiss in return.

"I love you, too. More than anything and everyone in the world" she said and cuddled her body closer into his and burried her head into his neck, occasionally placing kisses on his skin.

"Your cold baby?" Peter asked when he saw that she was still wearing just a top. He felt her nodding against his neck. He then quickly grabbed the blanket that lay next to them and covered Kelly's body with it and felt her placing another kiss on his neck, whispering "thanks honey".

They sat there for a while, just enjoying each others company and loving the warmth of the blanket and their body gave the other.

The first one who broke the silence was Peter, saying "You know baby...remember when David spoke about the press and stuff? What the newspapers write about us and the wedding..." he asked and Kelly nodded once again before she said "yeah..".

"Well how about...we'd just take a break from all of this" he suggested carefully, being a little afraid of her answer.

"What do you mean with 'a break' ?" Kelly asked confused and pulled her head slightly out of his neck to be able to look into his dark blue eyes that looked back at her.

"Umm... a little...vacation - just you and me - we could go wherever you want...New York...somewhere in Europe...just have a few days of togetherness without any interruptions, annoying people or paparazzis.." he explained and started stroking her hair while he spoke.

"What do you say?" he asked, wondering what she was thinking. "I think.." she started like she was reading his mind "that's a great idea. Our first real vacation together. Without anyone interrupting. Without any drama" she answered and kissed his lips shortly before pulling away.

Peter grinned widely at her "Great. Maybe we could start planning everything tomorrow...or some other time this week" he suggested excited and Kelly nodded agreeing "yep, cant wait".

"Hey honey" Kelly was the one that broke the silence this time.

"Mhm?"

"Arent you hungry? We havent had a proper dinner yet" she asked looking once again up at him.

Peter thought about it for a few moments and then grinned mischieviously at her.

"Oh god _i am hungry ,_baby" he said exaggerating and Kelly nodded and was just about to make her way off him, when Peter flipped them over so Kelly lay on the couch with him on top of her, still smilling widely.

"Peter?" Kelly asked amused not understanding the sudden change of situation.

"Well I told you im hungry baby so dont pretend like you were surprised" Peter stated, trying to hide his smile.

"Yeah so let me get you something" Kelly stated raising an eyebrow questioningly at him which he kissed her quickly before saying "Well you dont have to. You are more than enough for me - but thanks for the offer".

Kelly giggled, now understanding what he meant "ohh...so im your little dessert?!" she asked joking and Peter chuckled and then kissed her square on the lips.

"Nope dessert was yesterday. I'm definitely ready for the main-course" he joked back and then started kissing her neck, up and down...

"Mhh well if you call the sex we had yesterday just 'dessert' then im definitely interested in the main-course, baby" Kelly answered and smiled, while stroking his hair and back, sometimes grazing his ass or cupping the flesh on his back that was exposed by his T-shirt, which was pushed up during their making-out-session.

When Peter's mouth found his way back to Kelly's he gently asked for entrance with his tongue and when she pushed her lips apart, he softly sucked at them for a moment before slipping his tongue into her mouth to meet her's and massaged it.

It was then that Kelly started to moan through their kissing and it was when Peter, and Kelly, felt Peter's manhood harden through their trousers, which caused the both of them to sigh in pleasure.

The next thing Kelly felt, was Peter's hand edging slowly up her top and massaging the soft skin on her stomach before sliding them further up and cupping her breast through her sexy lace bra.

Hearing her moan again, Peter got impatient- he really couldnt wait much longer, so he softly pushed her back up off the couch so he could quickly lift her shirt over her head and unclasp her bra, before throwing it to the floor where it joined her top.

"Is there someone getting impatient?" Kelly whispered seduceviley in his ear, turning him on even more when he felt her breath tickling his ear and neck.

"You've no idea" he answered breathless and then dropped his head to place another few soft kisses down her neck and then on her breasts, sucking and nipping at her soft skin.

Now it was Kelly that tried desperately to get Peter out of his clothes. She impatiently opened the few buttons on his shirt and then pushed it off his shoulders, which caused Peter to stop his kisses on her chest.

Before he could say anything else anyway, Kelly had pulled him further on top of her so she could definitely feel his hardness now, while she covered his lips in hers in a sloppy kiss, telling him she didnt want to wait anymore.

Peter got the message and opened her trousers before pushing them down to her ankles and then threw them around the room, making Kelly giggle softly.

He stopped kissing her and rested on his knees for a moment to open his own trousers and get out of them, before he widened Kelly's legs and lay back down on top of her small body.

It only took them another few moments before they were completely naked and kissing passionatally with their tongues meshing together.

After minutes of desperate kisses and wandering hands Peter and Kelly were both aroused to the point of no return.

When the moment was right, Peter slid himself inside her and started thrusting slowly in and out of her, making them both moan. The moment Kelly felt him moving inside her, she was reminded of that first night they shared- on the couch - on _that_ couch. A slight smile crept up her face.

She probably couldnt be any happier - her life was really very very close to perfect and the only reason for this was Peter and having him finally beside her and hopefully forever.

"Baby" she heard Peter saying softly and she snapped out of her thinking...

Kelly just nodded and looked up at him before she kissed his lips, having tears in her eyes.

"Im not hurting you..am I?" Peter asked worried when he saw her wet eyes. Kelly knew what he was talking about and smiled up at him, loving how considerate of her feelings he always was.

"No. You" she started slightly breathless from the thing that was still going on a little lower between them. "You couldnt make me happier" she finished and pulled his head down, so she could kiss him with all the love in the world. Peter was satisfied with her answer and decided to leave it that way for now.

When their low moans turned into a breathless scream, Peter collapsed on top of Kelly and placed a few lazy kisses on her shoulder while trying to regain his steady breathing.

"I love you" she whispered after a few moments of sweet silence.

"I love you, too, baby. So much" he whispered back and pulled his head out for a second to place a quick kiss on her nose, making her smile sweetly.

When Peter felt her stroking the hair on the back of his neck, he sighed contently, but decided to speak again "Honey".

He waited for her answer before continuing "why were you so... emotionally" he asked, not being able to find the right words to express his thoughts.

"I mean.. believe me, it was amazing... wonderful.. our first actual night living together, but honey.. why did you almost cry" Peter asked hesitantly and placed another soft kiss on her shoulder to show her he was there whatever was about to come.

Kelly smiled slighly, finding it rather sweet that he was always so concerned about her and her feelings.

"Because..." she started slowly to draw out her answer a little bit for him "i was reminded of the first time we made love" she whispered into his hair before kissing the side of his head.

Peter knew immediately why that was. The two of them, that couch, making love to each other for the very first time - it was an image he would probably never forget - not that he wanted to - it was one of the most special nights of his life. And the night they were sharing was almost just as meaningful for him. The first time really _living_ together.

Without answering her, Peter pulled his head out of her hair once again before kissing her gently, feeling her smile through their locked lips.

After they pulled away Peter turned them over so she could rest her body on top of his instead of the other way around, he really didnt wanna hurt her with his body weight.

Smiling thankfully at the change of position, Kelly now rested her head on his shoulder and kissed the side of his neck before saying "Honey...maybe we should really consider that little trip...just the two of us" she sighed and rubbed his bare chest with a hand.

Peter smiled when he heard her and started stroking up and down the small of her back. This woman really couldnt make him any happier. She was perfect. Every minute spent with her was heaven. The only things left they really needed to worry and think about were now Kelly meeting Peter's kids and more importantly Peter explaining everything properly to them. And Kelly's family. Her mum - someone Peter was desperate to meet as well as kinda...sorta...maybe a little little bit..scared of? And work - their colleagues - nobody except for Melinda knew about them neither did they even know that Kelly was still a _Rowan_.

But for tonight, it was just Peter and Kelly. The only thing that filled their thoughts were each other and the only thing they felt was the love between them. No worries. No Paparazzis and press. No one but them. _For tonight_.

"Yeah, I think that would be great..." Peter said, smiling, his thoughts drifting back to the things that really mattered. The thing that really mattered: Kelly.

"You know, baby, now _I'm _getting kinda hungry myself" Kelly broke the silence after a few minutes, while rolling her body completely on top of his and looked mischieviously into his blue eyes.

"You are?" he asked joking back and started to massage his hands down her back.

"Mhmm". And that was it.

They made love for the secound time that day and it felt great - They now felt more connected than ever - They loved each other more than either of them had ever loved anyone before. But most importantly - _it felt right_.

Kelly and Peter both knew there were a lot of things and fears they still needed to face and were going to face sooner or later. But what was if they just had some time to themselves to really enjoy each other first? To really get to know each other. To enjoy living together. Maybe... to even have a little vacation together?

**So that's it. What do you think:) Wanna know what else we have planned for you? huh huh? come on you know you want to :P**

**xxx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey! Jen and I would like to say: Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter. I have to apologise sincerely for the delayed update, it's purely my fault with everything life has been hectic and it's exam time too!! So I'm sorry.**

**Really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others. **

**-**

Peter and Kelly sat outside the studios in their car. Nervous. This was it. They were about to tell everyone that they committed adultery, broke up shortly before ruining a wedding and now lived together. Peter reached over and clasped Kelly's hand when he heard her draw a sharp breath.

"Baby, it will be fine." He said.

"Yeah? Then why do you sound like you are trying to convince yourself as much as me?"

"You're right. It'll be horrible, they will all hate us and we shall have to flee the country" he joked.

Kelly just laughed. He always brought humour to a tense situation. It was one of the countless things she loved about him.

"Seriously though." He turned to face her, "As long as we have each other, what other people think doesn't matter. Those people in there are some of our closest friends and okay, they maybe won't agree with what we did, but if they, like Melinda see the love and happiness that exists between us, they will share that happiness with us."

Kelly squeezed his hand tighter and smiled at him convinced. "I know" she whispered before her lips pressed against his lovingly. Their kiss was soft and sensual, filled with companionship and comfort.

"Come on, it's now or never. Let's get it over with."

"AH! Kel! Let me see your..." a look of pure confusion spread over Rachel's soft features as she looked at Kelly's hand, "ring" she finished.

Kelly pulled her left hand from Rachel's grasp and covered her bare ring finger with her other hand.

"Where is it?" Rachel asked confused.

Kelly looked helplessly at Peter, who of course offered a smile of reassurance.

"Okay is everyone here?" Peter asked above the noise.

"Hey I'm the one that's supposed to say that!" Josh complained.

"Well you can say it after. Please is everyone here, something important needs to be discussed."

"Yeah everyone's here Peter." Melinda offered her support.

The cast and crew all sat down in various places looking as Kelly and Peter stood before them.

"Okay" Peter said suddenly nervous again. "So we are talking to you about this just now, before the tabloids or whatever get hold of it, and you find out anyway."

"What? What is it?" An impatient Rachel asked.

"I didn't marry David." Kelly had a new found confidence, these were her friends, if she couldn't tell them she couldn't tell anybody and Peter was right, regardless of the outcome, as long as they had each other everything would be okay.

"What? Why?" It was Ben who spoke this time.

"Because he was a jerk." Melinda said under her voice.

"I...ummm...wasn't happy and I fell in love with somebody else." She answered honestly.

"WHO?" Rachel's face was a picture of amazement.

Kelly looked across watching as Peter started towards her. On his approach he wrapped his arms around her and simply answered "me".

They stood there nervously. Peter stroking her back. What was everyone thinking? The silence was unbearable mixed with the range of expressions. Shock, surprise, confusion, motionless, Josh's however seemed to hold hope and relief. The only person sitting there casually was Melinda.

"You knew!" Rachel blurted out when she took in Melinda's expression.

"Of course, I was at the wedding." She said as if it was a daft question.

"Wait. There was a wedding? Adam asked still portraying his confusion.

"Yeah Peter crashed it." Melinda said a little more excitedly.

Gasps of shock echoed through the air convincing Kelly that this wasn't going smoothly. She lifted a hand and buried her head into it.

"It's okay" she heard Peter whisper in her ear.

"Peter's married!" Ben stated bluntly.

"Not any more" Peter spoke quietly. "Well it's not finalised, but I left Paula."

"Okay guys" Josh calmed all the commotion. "You two" he motioned to Kelly and Peter, "sit. We need to hear the whole story."

"All of it?" Kelly asked as Peter pulled her gently down by his side.

"Yes. Start with the first time you two...first...you know"

"But why?" Kelly still protested.

"Because the press is a very devious creature and if we hear the truth from your own mouths just now, we can make peace with it and ignore the papers, and we will know what to believe. Know the truth."

"Alright." Kelly sighed looking to Peter for support as he nodded his head gently and prompted her to start.

"Remember the day I told you that David was coming to town to see me?" She began, waiting for nods of confirmation before continuing. "Well as you know he didn't show, and I came in here and you guys had a party set up for us, well I put a brave face on and lied to you. His jet was fine; he just didn't want to come." She looked down showing her hurt from the past.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"It doesn't matter" She answered softly, "please just let me get this story out then you can ask questions. It's hard enough."

Peter took her hand in his, running his thumb over the back of it soothingly.

"Okay so anyway" she let out a breath. "Peter noticed I was upset and I told him how I was feeling and we talked it out, not that that's really relevant apart from it made us closer." 

Rachel was about to interrupt again but she stopped herself.

"Anyway, when I got home David was there. He was all dressed up and I stupidly thought he was here to see me and take me out. He wasn't. He just needed a babysitter Well as the night progressed I was becoming more and more frustrated and upset because I couldn't get the baby to stop crying, so i called Peter thinking he had experience with kids and he was easy to talk to."

Kelly stopped there knowing they could all read the pain in her eyes and the hurt in her voice. She searched Peter's eyes with her own, silently begging him to continue for her.

"When i got to Kelly's she was upset and needed comfort. We finally for the baby to stop crying and we chatted, again making us closer. When the baby went to bed Kelly was crying and we ended up kissing then one thing led to another..."

He stopped there and smiling at Kelly as she smiled at the memory, before he leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"So we, i guess, had an affair for a while, then I went to Canada under David's command." She continued "while I there he surprised me saying her had a date for the wedding and it was really close. I panicked and I remember being scared because I knew I had actually fallen in love with Peter, I had loved him for a long time."

"I had completely fallen for Kelly too and it broke my heart when she phoned and told me. Anyways Kelly got back and we had a huge argument because I was too scared and stupid to leave my family and admit what I really truly wanted. We broke up and I guess tried to carry on life as normal."

Everyone sat listening contently. It was a bizarre atmosphere and hard to read the expressions on their faces. Peter couldn't tell if that was a positive or negative sign. Nevertheless he continued.

"By the time I realised how stupid i had been it was too late and I nearly lost her forever. I flew to Canada after her and stopped the wedding. That's pretty much it."

Everyone still sat silently processing this mass of information. Melinda hadn't even heard the whole story before.

"Wait. How did you stop the wedding?" Adam asked intrigued.

"Umm...well..." he looked embarrassed.

"He burst through the doors asking if he was too late, then claimed his love for me on front of everyone, including David." Kelly giggled as she stroked his cheek affectionately. "My hero" she whispered so only he heard.

Peter smiled sweetly at her words.

"David went totally mental!" Melinda jumped in getting looked at by everyone. "What? This is the part of the story that I know!" she defended. Everyone laughed. "So anyway, David was yelling and calling Kelly names, insulting her, it was revolting, but Prince Peter jumped in and defended her, he actually almost punched David until he cowered away." Melinda paused to catch a breath.

"God, what a jerk!" Rachel shouted.

"That's what I said."

"Well you can't blame him for being mad." Kelly said. "I did cheat on him."

"And I hope you don't feel bad about it Kel." Melinda said "he said it himself on front of the whole church, he was just using you, all he cared about was how he looked work wise and now he didn't have someone to baby-sit his son."

"He said that?" Ben said alarmed.

"Not in those exact words." Kelly answered shyly.

"Look Kel. Stop beating yourself up about it. Nobody blames you. Or Peter" she quickly added when his face changed. "My point is the outcome is all that matters and you two are so in love and so happy. So we are happy for you."

"Really!"

"YES!" everyone almost said together.

"Group hug!" Rachel requested as she motioned for everyone to come together.

Laughing they all crawled together and hugged. When they pulled apart everyone watched as Peter kissed Kelly softly, his bigger lips covering hers as they shared relief.

"I hope you guys aren't gonna be having PDAs every two seconds now." Adam joked.

"Wow the Seth is really coming out in you" they laughed.

-

2 weeks later...

"I can't believe Josh actually went with giving us time off" Kelly smiled as her and Peter strolled through central park hand in hand.

"I know. It was very nice of him. It will be good though, you know to get away while the press publish stories about us." He kissed her head as they walked.

"Yeah 'cause they don't have newspapers in New York" she replied sarcastically.

Peter stopped them walking, and turned her to face him.

"We are gonna be fine. Everyone that it matters to knows the real story. Stop worrying."

Kelly smiled at him as she stepped forward to receive a cuddle.

"I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too baby."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, enjoying the atmosphere, the change in scenery. Peter leaned forward taking her lips in his. His tongue massaged her bottom lip until she gave him entrance. The kiss was slow and delicate, but immensely passionate. It was almost as if they should have a sign pointing at them saying "the perfect couple."

When they broke apart they weren't that surprised to see four cameras sticking out of a nearby bush, with eight eyes behind them. Paparazzi.

"Come on. You wanna go for dinner?" He asked her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Actually I was thinking we could order in."

"Really?" He said in a sexy tone.

Kelly knew he had immediately picked up on what she meant so she decided to wind him up a little.

"Yeah because if we don't the photographers will just follow us all night." She tried not to laugh as she said it.

"What! That's your reason?"

"Well yeah. What other reason is there?"

Peter was silent for a moment, shocked that she wasn't picking up on what he meant. He turned round to look at her and speak when he saw her almost doubled over in laughter.

"Oh that was so not funny!" he said in disbelief.

"It kinda was. The look on your face was priceless."

"I'm gonna get you for that."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am." He insisted.

"Well..." she said as she stopped walking and took a step on front of him. You'll have to..." she took another step away from him, "...catch me first." She said as she turned and fled over a really large patch of grass.

"OH I'm so gonna get you!" he shouted after her as he began to run after her.

Kelly squealed playfully when he eventually caught her. Peter grabbed her and tackled her playfully as they both landed on the soft green texture. Peter rolled on top of Kelly and pressed his lips firmly onto hers. Not pulling away until passers-by whistled jokingly at them. Peter just giggled as he pulled them both into a sitting position.

"You know baby you are surprisingly fast."

"Really" she raised her eyebrows. "You think?"

"Yeah"

"It's not all I'm fast at" she tempted.

Peter's eyebrows shot up as he looked at her mischievously.

"Well, maybe you can demonstrate this great pace, in the empty bed, in the empty apartment that's waiting for us."

"Maybe I will." She giggled as he helped her to her feet and they made their way back to the footpath.

Peter pinned Kelly against the wall of the hall as he kissed her desperately. His hands wondering up and down her sides after they removed her jacket. He was already bare chested, like Kelly said, she had good pace at a few things. She ran her hands over his muscled chest as she moaned into his mouth. Peter's hands found the bottom of her top and waited until she lifted her arms and allowed him to lift it up over her head. He did this task deliberately slowly so he could savour the sight of her lace clad breasts. Their lips met hungrily again as their tongues meshed together. Peter smiled as Kelly tangled her fingers through his hair, it meant he was getting to her, making her aroused. Kelly could feel herself wet already, she wanted him so bad, and by the feel of his groin colliding with hers he wanted her too.

"Peter, bedroom" she managed to breathe out

He obliged, however kept kissing her. As their tongues twisted together he began to walk backwards along the corridor taking her with him. They almost fell as they stumbled over the slight step at the door, Peter's hands continued to wander round her body until finally he managed to lay her on the bed. He undid her jeans and threw them away before he removed his own and climbed slowly on top of her. Their groins clashed through the light fabric of their underwear as the kissed again. Peter slipped his tongue into her mouth as he began to softly stroke her tongue with his, Kelly moaned out as she lost her fingers in his mop of black hair. It felt so good. He began to move above her, his hips rotating as his bulge pleasured her in a new way. Kelly moaned out loud as he aroused her more, lifting her hips so she could fell him as much as possible. Moving her hands up and down his back she felt his muscles tense around her fingers as he released a raspy breath.

Peter's hand found her breast as he undid her bra and moved his mouth down to kiss them, mouth giving one equal pleasure to his hand on the other. Kelly's back arched into him as she wrapped her legs around his middle pulling him down further, longing to feel him. Kelly was going crazy with each rub he gave her as she completely lost control of her breathing. Peter found her lips again while her hands tackled his boxers until she finally freed him. Her fingers took hold of him as she made him moan the best way she knew how. As he back arched once more when his fingers trailed further down her, her bare chest against his was too much for him to handle. Moving her hand away from him he removed her panties before opening her legs and getting her ready for him. He plunged into her allowing a trapped moan to escape them both. He was about to start moving within her until she stopped him.

"Wait" she spoke breathlessly, "I can't prove my pace to you if I'm on the bottom." She said with a hit of mischief in her eyes.

Laughing as she flipped them over Peter allowed her to take control. She began to move above him quickening her pace with every thrust. His hips assisted her as he watched her rosy cheeks and her eyes fluttering closed. She was so beautiful. It didn't long until they came together, simultaneously screaming their lover's name. Kelly collapsed on top of him. Her head on his chest listening to the strong beat of his heart.

"You know, I think I'm beginning like New York" she giggled as he kissed her head.

All dinner plans forgotten they crawled into bed together cuddling close until they fell asleep soundly. Both could get use to this. Everything they had gone through good and bad, of this was the outcome of their life neither was complaining. Peter and Kelly had eventually found what they had always been searching for...true love.

Kelly was the first of them to waken the next morning, with a quick sprint to the bathroom she found herself kneeling on front of the toilet throwing up. She didn't understand, it wasn't like she had eaten dinner last night to make her sick. She had felt nauseas and weak not to mention shattered for the past good few weeks. Kelly began to fear that she had mistaken it for nothing when it was actually something. Feeling ill at the wedding, even before that, in the hotel when she had been sick when Melinda was there, a few mornings in the past couple weeks and now this morning. She fixed herself a glass of water as she stared out of the kitchen window onto the busy street. Thoughts mixed and tumbled around her head as she searched for the answer, the only logical one she could think of was...pregnant.

No. She couldn't be. Could she? She was on the pill, although she did go through a period of time where she didn't take it. But still then it's not one hundred percent effective. She buried her head in her hands as she sighed heavily. What if she was and didn't know about it? No you can't be her head kept telling her. In truth Kelly never had the intention of becoming a mum. Oh God! No kel, don't jump to conclusions, nothing is positive, take a test and then you will know...yes that's it...a test..."

"Morning baby" she jumped out of her thought train as Peter greeted her with his arms around her waist.

She smiled slightly at him as she tilted her head and allowed him a kiss, which he gladly accepted. Should she tell him? No. It would be best to find out if you are...you know...preg...oh God...before you tell him anything. Only problem was how was she supposed to get a test and take it without him knowing?

"Wanna do some sightseeing today?" he asked her breaking the silence.

"Umm, sure, what did you have in mind?"

"How about walk to the empire state building, lunch, some shopping?"

He got no response.

"Kelly?"

"Uh? What? Oh right, yeah sounds great. Let me go get ready." And with that she walked away.

They sat at lunch having just toured some of the sights of New York. Kelly was amazed the places they visited were beautiful. Peter sat opposite her, their hands clasped over the table as he watched her. She looked so good, the wind blowing her hair into her face slightly but she refused to separate her hands from his to move it. He smiled at her as their eyes met.

"You okay?" he asked after a moment. "You're very quiet."

Kelly smiled at his sweetness, "yeah I'm good, just tired you know, a wonderfully handsome and loving man tired me out last night." She giggled.

Peter giggled with her for a moment. "Well he's the luckiest and happiest man in the world to have you."

Kelly squeezed his hands as he spoke before leaning right over the table to give him a long kiss. They really did have the perfect relationship. When they left lunch they strolled along the park just chatting and laughing as they made their way to the shops. They sat on the grass for a while watching the world go by, this really was a relaxing holiday.

"I'm really glad you suggested this" Kelly smiled as she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know me too. I'm having the best time ever."

Kelly's mind drifted back to the thoughts she had had that morning as she watched a couple walking through the park with their baby. What if she was pregnant, what would she do? Would she even manage to be a mum? She had too many thoughts invading her head that she didn't notice Peter sneak off and hide from her. When she snapped back to reality she stood up and searched around for him, it wasn't until he peeked round from behind the tree that she saw him. Sneaking up behind him she stood with her hands on her hips displaying and un amused look as she exposed him.

"I supposed you think it's funny to sneak of and hide from me." She said trying to keep the grin from her face.

Peter turned around to face her now realising he was found. A cheeky smile crept along his face as he lifted her up and spun her around in a circle causing her to let out a delighted giggle as she hugged her flying body tight to his. When he stopped spinning her around she smiled and ran her hands through his hair before their lips met for a few short, light kisses before passion overtook them.

"How about we leave shopping and go back to the apartment?" Peter said suggestively as he kissed her lips a few more times and placed her feet back on the ground.

Kelly pondered it for a moment. "Okay. But you have to promise to take me shopping tomorrow"

"Deal." He said as he took her hand and led her out the park just like he had the day before.

They were almost back at the apartment when something caught Kelly's eye, a pharmacy. Making her excuses she told him to go on and she would join him in a minute. Checking to make sure nobody was around or no men with cameras were about to jump out on her she quickly got what she needed and went back to join Peter.

Barely making it in the bedroom door before he grabbed her and started kissing Kelly pushed her thoughts out of her mind, blocking them for the next hour or so. They stripped each other quickly before making love twice over, in two same, but different ways. As she lay wrapped up in his arms afterwards he placed light kisses on her head and in the silence her thoughts came back and began to haunt her once more.

A baby would ruin this, she thought to herself, would restrict and limit us. I don't want things to change she told herself, they are perfect the way they are right now. But then again, maybe it would strengthen us, we would be a family. I could make a good mother. Oh snap out of it Kelly!!! Her conscience scolded her, you don't even know if you are.

Glancing up at a sleeping Peter she quietly slipped out of his grasp as she retrieved her bag and locked the bathroom door behind her. She slowly pulled out the test as she sat herself down on the toilet reading the box.

"A cross means it's positive, a line means negative." She whispered as she read.

It took her almost ten minutes to muster up enough courage to open it up. After taking the test she sat on the floor waiting for the result, her stomach churning and her head spinning. Her mind all over the place.

Cross, positive, line negative, she thought, or was it the other way around? Was the line positive and the cross negative, like cross meaning no or was it a cross like a plus sign that would mean positive. Oh God, what was it? Scrambling for the box she read it again. Cross is positive, line is negative. God it was so confusing.

"Two minutes must be up" she said almost frustrated as she lifted the test off the side of the sink.

Sinking back to the floor she inhaled a deep breath letting it out slowly before turning it over to look at the result. She sat there the answer she had been searching for staring her in the face as she let out a gasp.

What did that one mean again?

-

**Thanks for reading, we hope you liked and we promise to try not make you wait so long for future updates.**

**Please leave us a review and tell us if we should continue with this story or are you all bored of it now? Hehe. Much love xxx**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone!!! First of all thank you very much for the reviews on the last chapter - but I can tell you one thing: Ally and me are the only ones that know how this pregnancy-thing turns out, so please be a little more patient before you hate the idea :D**

**2nd of all I am so sorry that it took me so long to write our new chapter- i wont find any lame excuses cuz i admit: im a bad bad, lazy jen :-S but I still hope you wont hate me cuz we have a new, loong, emotional Chapter for you ;D**

**We'd love to know what you think. MERRY CHRISTMAS xxxxx much love. Jen & Ally**

Kelly sighed deeply when she looked down at the little stick that could change her and or worse even ruin her relationship with the man she loved most - it was almost ridiculous that this little piece of plastic had her whole future in it's hands- well if it had hands.

So what was positive again? The cross like "+" positive or more like the line because cross is like "no" - not pregnant. Kelly felt herself more nervous than she had ever been before, but she just realised that she was crying when she looked in the little mirror opposite her and saw her tearstained cheeks.  
Deciding that all this insecurity went far and upset her enough, she looked for the package to check if the test was negative or really positive which meant there was a little baby growing inside her without her knowing it.  
She spotted the package a few inches away and was just about to grab it, look at it and face whatever there was waiting for her, when she suddenly heard a loud knock on the door, startling her.  
"BABY!" she heard Peter yelling loudly but still with the usual softness in his voice. Was it the first time he called her or had she just not noticed?  
Kelly needed a moment to realise where exactly she was and what was going on : Pregnancy test. Her being still naked on the floor of her boyfriend's apartment. Peter. Outside the door, probably wondering why she locked herself in the bathroom.  
When she heard another knock and a lot more worried "Kelly, honey everything alright?" she quickly jumped to her feet, grabbed the robe that lay carelessly in a corner, put it on and let the test and the box disappear into her make-up-suitcase - a place no man would ever look if he didn't have to.  
"Honey... let me in" she heard when she wiped her cheeks in front of the mirror. Peter seemed almost panicked "Baby let me..." she heard him saying but managed to open the door quickly and force a smile before he worried any more or could finish his sentence.  
"God Baby, you gave me a fright, I really thought something happened" Peter said relieved and pulled her tightly against his body, hugging her.  
Kelly forgot for a second her problems and had to smile sincerely into his shoulder - he really was the most wonderful man in the world to her.  
"No no everything's alright" she reassured him and felt him pulling back. He studied her eyes for a second before he reached up and caressed her cheek with his hand, a worried look on his face.  
"Baby... did you cry?" Peter asked carefully and concerned when he saw her messy make-up.  
Kelly was shocked for a second- how did he always do this? He always knew when something was up but she had to admit, she really didn't look her best right now- just like she felt.  
Find an excuse Kel , come on, you cant tell him , hell you don't even know if there is something to tell, calm down calm down, Kelly told herself and forced another smile to her lips when she looked up to him once again "Noo I washed my face and forgot that my mascara isn't a waterproof. I'm fine , really" she said and pecked his lips.  
"Are you hungry?" she quickly asked after, trying to change the subject.  
Peter looked at her for another few moments- he didn't believe a word she said. He knew she had cried and he knew that something was bothering her but he decided to let her off the hook for now - maybe it was just a woman-issue he couldn't understand anyway.  
However when he heard her asking that question he had to smirk - Kelly was never a good liar "Hungry? Baby maybe it's just me but didn't we have lunch before we disappeared in the apartment?" he asked her, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.  
Kelly giggled slightly, blushing "umm well... we didn't have our dessert... because _someone _wanted to go back to the apartment to _do something else" _she replied, smirking. Peter Gallagher was a miracle to her, a few seconds with him could make the worst day seem alright and make her forget everything upsetting for a few moments- exactly what she needed.  
"Dessert huh?" Peter said playfully mocking her.  
"Mhmhm" Kelly agreed and slowly started closing the gap between their lips.  
"We ... only...have...a...few...days...off...so...we...better...don't...waste...our...time...here...in New York" she said between kisses before they broke apart.  
"Well... then we better get dressed, beautiful" Peter said smiling mischievously and played with the knot of her robe before Kelly slapped his hand away "Good idea mister, now go on, hurry up".  
---  
After Kelly managed to push Peter away from her and both got ready and dressed, they made their way to some quieter streets of New York if you could call anything that has to do with "street" quiet in that city.  
Kelly enjoyed her time with Peter alone, but she couldn't help but think back at the pregnancy test. She was never an impatient person but this was different. This could not only change her life forever and she hated lying to Peter this morning. She loved him more than anything and the last thing she wanted were secrets between them but she just couldn't tell him because she didn't even know herself if she was pregnant or not- but what was if she was pregnant? Would Peter even want this? Would he think it was too soon. What was if he didn't want any more kids? "What is if he doesn't want kids with me? No time for thinking about that now, Kel. Maybe I'm just overreacting", she told herself for the millionth time when Peter suggested to have coffee and a little 'dessert' in a sweet little café in front of them.  
"Sure" Kelly heard herself saying but she couldn't really say that she knew what was going on around her since she left the bathroom. The only thing she really felt was Peter's arm around her and his hand on her waist - she always loved the warmth and comfort he promised. Maybe this was a good sign.  
It was only a few moments later when Peter and Kelly sat opposite each other in that little "quiet" café, holding hands over the table.  
Peter looked at her lovingly and she could read in his eyes that he was still a little worried- of course he was, after all he was still Peter Gallagher.  
He started to say "Baby are you sure you are..." when a waiter interrupted them with a friendly "Good afternoon. How can I help you".  
Kelly was more than thankful for the interruption, because she hated finding excuses, especially if it was Peter she was lying to.  
"I.. I'd like a cup of coffee" Kelly said but then it hit her - wait, what if I am pregnant, she thought to herself, isn't coffee bad for the blood pressure or something? Could it harm my...our baby if there is a baby? Kelly was confused.  
Deciding that it could be too dangerous she changed her mind "No um I'm sorry Sir, I'll just have water please".  
The waiter nodded and she tried to ignore Peter's confused and now definitely worried look.  
"For me a Macchiato, thanks" Peter answered the waiter quickly, hoping he'd leave so he could question Kelly.  
The waiter however, had another plan, much to Kel's relief.  
"Okay, Macchiato and water - miss do you want it cold with ice?" he asked Kelly and she nodded "That would be great". Macchiato  
LEAVE, Peter screamed in his head but the waiter continued "Okay so water with ice and a, anything else?".  
Peter was about to say NO so he'd leave when Kelly spoke up abruptly "YEAH. Um… do you have desserts, too?" she asked the waiter friendly and he answered, just as politely "Of course, do you want our menu?".  
Again, Peter was about to scream NO THANKS when Kelly nodded rapidly "Yes please".  
The waiter disappeared for a moment and Kelly looked around nervously before she eventually caught Peter's worried-looking eyes.  
Peter used the moment of silence to ask her finally what was going on "Honey" he said squeezing the hand that was still tight in his over the table.  
"Kelly what was all that about? You and no coffee, who are you kidding?" Peter asked softly and lightly, hoping it'd relax her.  
"I.. just umm.. it's so cold uh warm so I thought ..I'm just not in the mood for coffee- is that so unbelievable?" Kelly answered nervously.  
"Let me think about it...yeah it is unbelievable" Peter once again was the first to joke about it and even Kelly smiled, rolling her eyes.  
"No honey seriously..." Peter started a lot more seriously but was interrupted by his new best friend: The waiter alias The Penguin himself.  
"Here" the waiter smiled politely and gave the menu to Kelly which she accepted thankfully.  
The moment the waiter left Peter had tried to catch Kelly's eyes but she dodged him every time, pretending to be veeery interested in the menu and the great desserts.

What am I doing here? Kelly asked herself frustrated when she looked over the different desserts and fruits.  
I cant lie any longer. He knows something is up. I cant tell him either. I don't know what this will do to him and to us.  
Mhh… Strawberry not bad. Bad- exactly how everything's going to turn out.  
What if I tell him, but it turns out to be just a damn cold or something- drama for nothing. But what if don't tell him and it is a something- not only a something- a little human being. OUR baby.  
Banana- I don't know. Know - He definitely wants to know what's bothering me and he has the right to know, hasn't he? He is the father if there is something inside me that has a father - like his baby.

Kelly looked slightly over the menu to see what Peter was doing. When she saw that he looked down at the table, a worried and pretty much hurt look on his face, her heart broke in thousand little pieces. What was she doing to him? She couldn't just shut him out whenever she wanted. Even if there wasn't a baby, she should still tell him that she was worried, because she wasn't feeling well the last few weeks.  
On the other hand... what was if he was one of those men that freak out terribly if there was even the slightest chance of having to be responsible for anything more than a car. No - that wasn't Peter. He had already two kids with his wife - the wife- Paula- maybe that was the reason he left her - he wanted to be young again without responsibilities and well kids. Who are you kidding Kelly? He loved his family - almost too much to be with you.  
Hm there was always another choice - peaches: juicy but sometimes a little sour. God, what is if he starts screaming at me for being a stupid, gold digging whore, that wants to have a baby with him so he pays for everything she needs and wants- it wouldn't be the first time someone she cared about called her that way. David. Yeah right Peter was so not like David.  
Apples- Kelly always loved apples but the apple is the fruit of sin- what was if Peter thought she did all this on purpose? That she seduced him to have a rich man that pays for everything- but why would he think that? She could've become Mrs. David Thompson and it wasn't like she was poor either.  
Cherries- always a good choice. Those two little sweet balls connected by a thin little string- almost like Peter and Kelly - they fitted together perfectly and they were so in love. But they hadn't much in common - not much that held them together. One little accident, one little cut and the little string that held them together could be destroyed.  
She was afraid that this little baby could be their

BANG

Kelly was startled out of her thoughts. Her head shot up and she looked at Peter worriedly who looked at one of the waiters. Kelly followed his gaze and saw that a young waiter was busy with picking up broken dishes- so that was the startling noise.

Peter got a fright when he heard a loud noise - a waiter had dropped a few plates. However when he saw that Kelly looked up from the damn menu, he was glad that he had an opportunity to talk to her after those long moments of silence between them while she looked at nothing but the damn desserts.  
"Have you made a choice?" Peter started the conversation, shocking Kelly slightly. She looked into his eyes, once again feeling guilty for upsetting him.  
Oh how she wished she could tell him what was frightening her so much and how much she needed and loved him.  
"Oh no.. I … just looked at some fruits but I haven't made a decision" she answered and smiled at him for a few moments.  
She was glad when she got a small smile in return- she could be the world's biggest bitch and he was still there. This had to be a good sign.  
"Well what about apples- you love them, don't lie" Peter joked and Kelly giggled back before she thought again about the thing before.  
"NO" she answered abruptly, before thinking about it.  
"I mean...no... Sorry not in the mood for apples right now, honey" she corrected herself, but pulled her hand out of his grasp.  
Peter looked disappointed for a moment, before she caressed the back of his hand with her fingertips and smiled at him warmly again.  
"Well baby how about...cherries then..." Peter asked but couldn't even finish his sentence before Kelly shook her head rapidly.  
"Why not?" Peter asked a little confused- he had countless times dinner, lunch, breakfast and desserts with her before that he thought he knew what she liked and what not.  
"I don't know...I just...I think I don't like that they are just connected through a simple thin string" Kelly replied and could've slapped herself for her daft answer- "and the Oscar for the biggest idiot in TV goes to KELLY ROWAN".  
Peter had to chuckle because he thought she was joking- when he noticed she wasn't he asked "Baby, that is your reason?"  
Kelly blushed feeling absolutely stupid now. "I guess..." was her answer before her eyes met his again.  
Peter lifted his eye brows before he said disbelieving "BABY YOU DONT EVEN HAVE TO EAT THIS STRINGY-THINGY". He chuckled and Kelly rolled her eyes, smiling too.  
"I know...it's just that if two things are just connected through something like this thin...thing, there is always the danger that something could break them apart and that would be horrible for the two of them because they were almost used to each other and like being together and..." Kelly said - she started slowly, talking about why she didn't like the cherries but she quickly sounded desperate and upset.  
Peter looked at her seriously. "Baby are we still talking about cherries?" he asked grabbing her hand that drew nervous circles over his skin while she talked.  
"Of course" Kelly answered and the moment she read in Peter's eyes how disappointed he was that she lied again, she knew she needed to talk to him or she would lose him over something that was maybe nothing.  
She loved him. She trusted him. She knew that he was nothing like David. She knew that he knew that she wasn't with him for money but because she truly loved him.  
But most importantly, she knew nothing could happen that would make her think different about him and there wasn't a thing in the world that could make her not want to spend the rest of her life with the man that was currently sitting opposite her on the table, stroking her hand lovingly after she ignored his concerned looks and questions all day long.  
"Honey I think we need..." she started, but the Penguin interrupted her "Sir, your macchiato" he said, putting Peter's coffee in front of him before turning to Kelly "Miss, your water" and did the same to Kel.  
Peter sighed when they were interrupted once again- it was Kelly's first attempt to open up to him and they were interrupted.  
Kelly saw his disappointed expression and looked down while she watched his spoon circling the cup of coffee over and over again. Peter didn't look at her neither was she looking at him.  
-  
"I love you and I'm worried about you".  
Kelly was shocked to hear those sudden, but of course lovely words, when they sat on the sofa of Peter's apartment in the evening, watching an old movie.  
"I umm… what?" she asked, playing confused and dumb.  
Peter sighed and took her hand in his, stroking it with his fingertips while running his other through her hair.  
"I love you" he repeated and kissed her softly on the lips, "but I'm worried about you" he repeated and looked into her deep, blue eyes.  
Kelly thought about denying it for a moment, but she decided it had gone long enough. She needed to tell him. Not only for his sake but for her's as well. She knew Peter would be shocked and who knows what this could do to their relationship but she knew that Peter would be there for her and that was what she needed.  
She couldn't and didn't want to find out herself.  
"Peter...there is something important I need to tell you" Kelly whispered and hugged him to her body. Peter was more than shocked that Kelly really started to open up to him, but he couldn't deny how nervous he became when she emphasised the "important".  
"Okay. You know you can tell me anything, baby" Peter whispered back, just as quietly, before he pulled back to make her look into his eyes.  
Kelly smiled at him, but looked down while she repeated the whole story in her head. The second she thought about the possibility of being pregnant she had thought about the moment this could've happened- Peter was always a protection-freak and she couldn't think about an occasion he could've gotten her pregnant.  
She couldn't think about one until right then, when she was about to tell him that his girlfriend was probably pregnant with his child. Right that moment she remembered the night she had sex without protection.  
_  
The kiss they were experiencing seemed so different from any they had ever shared before. He tasted different. As did she. Maybe because it was real.  
He was great  
There was no doubt, he was the best and most considerate lover she had ever had. _

"David, are...you drunk?"  
_"You are hurting me"  
She knew then that it wouldn't make sense to try to get away or tell him to  
stop anymore. So she just tried to relax to make it not any worse than it  
already was._

The first time with Peter. The night with her drunken ex-fiancé.  
Kelly never even thought about that possibility. Maybe she just didn't want to be reminded of sex she ever had with David and especially not that night.  
It was Peter that she loved. He was the only man she wanted to have sex with for the rest of her life. David was the past, but maybe the past had caught up with her, without her having noticed.  
Kelly could scream and cry in once. She was so stupid. How could she not think about it? The situation was complicated enough but what was if David was the father of her baby? Peter would leave her and she would be standing alone with a kid- her worst nightmare.  
She couldn't hide the hot tear that prickled down her cheek. It was bad enough as it was. A baby means a huge change and even if it was Peter's, Kelly didn't know what he'd think or if they could even make it together - they still got to know each other and enjoyed their new-found love and their fresh relationship. Kelly couldn't tell him but she couldn't lie to him either.  
"Baby" Peter said softly when he saw the tear rolling down her cheek before he wiped it away.  
Kelly stopped her thoughts about Peter, about David, about her and her baby that might not even be a baby.  
But most importantly she decided to stop thinking about the consequences - sooner or later everything would work out one way or the other. The only thing she hoped was that Peter loved her as much as he told her.  
"Kelly, you know you can tell me everything" Peter brought out - he was incredibly nervous himself to even speak properly.  
Kelly looked up in his gorgeous, breathtaking, comforting eyes and another few tears escaped her eyes. She couldn't lose this man over something as stupid as her not thinking about protection - over something stupid as a few minutes with the man she now not even liked anymore. A few minutes that could ruin them forever.  
"Peter" she whispered but kissed him softly before she continued.  
"I love you" she said and she didn't say it to win some time or because she was too nervous to say anything else. She said it because it was the first thing she thought every time she looked in those gorgeous eyes that belonged to the man she loved most.  
"I love you" she repeated and looked down for a few moments to compose herself.  
"I love you, too, Baby, and nothing is ever going to change that. Nothing" Peter said, still unable to keep the sadness out of his voice- he knew something bad was about to happen. Did she cheat on him? No, she left her fiancé for him- he knew she loved him. Did she think they have too little in common or was there another reason and she wanted to break up with him- in love or not? Peter was simply scared.  
"I know. I know" Kelly said. She knew Peter loved her, but she also knew he didn't know what she was about to say.

Peter lifted her chin with a finger and made her look into his eyes once again. Before she could say anything he kissed her. A tender kiss. He kept his lips closed until he felt her own lips moving. When the kiss deepened and there was nothing but love and desire between them, they forgot the tears, the conversation and their fear for a few moments and just enjoyed each other the way they always did.  
He caressed her back like he always did and Kelly brushed her hands through his long full hair, enjoying how it felt between her fingers. It was just the way it always was between them.  
Unfortunately ended the kiss too soon and they broke apart to look into each other's eyes.  
"Baby, whatever it is, can't it wait until tomorrow?" Peter asked. He was the one that was most afraid of the conversation now. He just wanted to enjoy the evening with her.  
"I thought you wanted me to..." Kelly started but Peter had covered her lips already in his. She knew what he was telling her. Why not? Maybe it wasn't as dramatic as Kelly thought and it wouldn't be their last night, but in case it was, she didn't want a desperate quickie after shopping to be their last session of love-making.  
Kelly slowly reciprocated to the kiss and let herself being pulled tightly into his arms. Sooner or later, well more sooner than later both were stripped to their underwear and they lay in Peter's bed. He kissed all up her shoulder and neck, before he reached her lips again, making Kelly sigh. What was if this was the last time he'd ever touch her the way he was doing now? Kelly pushed those thoughts out of her mind, while Peter stripped them both of their remaining garments and positioned himself between her parted legs.  
"I love you" Peter breathed out before he closed his eyes and entered her slowly. When he was sure she adjusted to the feeling of him inside of her, he started to move gracefully in and out of her, creating a most pleasurable feeling inside the both of them.  
It took only a few more deep thrusts and Peter felt her tightening around him, screaming his name before he took his own high and collapsed on top of her own exhausted body.  
Peter sighed happily and satisfied when he felt her stroking the hair of the back of his neck. _God, I love this woman_.  
"I love you, too" Kelly said and giggled. Peter's head shot up, out of her neck to see her mischievous eyes and to make sure she saw his raised eye brows.  
"How did you know?" Peter asked smiling, while he watched his hand, stroking her cheek.  
Kelly giggled again "know what".  
"That I..." Peter started and wanted to tell her that it was crazy that she knew what he was thinking.  
"Love me? Well I just knew" Kelly answered and grinned, kissing him again. Their banter was so playful and everything seemed so carefree that both _almost _forgot about their important -talk-.  
Peter bent down to leave another few kisses on her lips, when Kelly thought about it for the first time in at least 1 and a half hours.  
She had to tell him. She couldn't think or cry a problem away and everyone knows that denial isn't helping either - not for long at least.  
They could face the test together and if they couldn't they weren't as half as strong as Kelly thought they were anyway.  
Peter placed a last kiss on her sweet small lips before he made an attempt to roll off of his lover.  
"No stay, baby, we need to talk anyway" Kelly whispered softly, stroking his back so he knew she was really comfy in her current position.  
Peter nodded and let her pull his head back into her neck and hair, kissing her skin a few times before she started with what she had to say all day long.  
"Peter, Honey... I don't know if… there is even something to tell. I...know it's stupid but...I don't know it myself it is just possible that I am..." Kelly started but stopped to take a deep breath. "You remember when you found me in the bathroom today, don't you" she asked rhetorical and felt him nodding against her shoulder.  
"Well I...I...was there…because… I ... remember when i found a lame excuse to arrive a little bit later at yours after we went shopping?" she asked again to win time.  
"Yeah baby" Peter replied, still afraid of what she was about to say. "Well i went to the pharmacy" Kelly brought out nervously.  
"Are you sick?" Peter asked quietly, thinking she might be seriously sick and that was why she was in the bathroom and didn't want coffee and was all jumpy.  
"I...I bought a pregnancy test and I... the bathroom and..." Kelly said now crying when Peter slowly lifted his head to be able to look in her eyes.  
"Are you...pregnant?" Peter whispered, completely shocked- this wasn't something he thought about.  
Kelly closed her eyes, taking a deep and long breath before she opened her eyes again to look at him sincerely "I don't know" she answered and wiped her cheek dry.  
"What does that mean you don't know? I mean you took the test, not me Kelly" Peter answered a little too firmly - he really thought Kelly must be kidding.  
"I took the test but I couldn't look at it, because you interrupted. Peter, I'm sorry I didn't tell you- I just- I got scared. Cant you understand that?" Kelly explained, looking deeply hurt- she didn't expect him to be so cold.  
"Kelly I do understand but why didn't you tell me this morning, we ...we could've looked at it together" Peter replied, studying here face.  
"I don't know, Peter. I was just so scared. I never wanted this. I'm terrible with babies and we...our relationship is so new and I love you so much and I ...I don't want to lose you Peter- I don't want to lose you" Kelly said, crying even more.  
"Kelly, baby" Peter shushed her and kissed her tears away. "Baby stop crying. Hey… hey. You don't even know if you are pregnant okay? And even if you are, nobody is perfect with babies from the very first second- you have to learn it, but baby why was that so terrible to tell me? I mean you are right it is definitely soon, maybe too soon, but a baby should never be something to cry for. It's a little person that we made" he said, trying to sooth her (and probably himself).  
Kelly believed every word he said and was more than grateful for his comfort until he said those last few words

_a little person we made  
we made  
_

_we  
_

What was if she made it with David? If it was his. She forgot about that.  
"Peter..." Kelly started and looked directly into his eyes "I'm sorry". Peter smiled at her, having no idea that she apologized for the thing she was about to say not for the thing he already knew and practically made peace with it.  
"It might be not yours" she finished her sentence simply, being ashamed of the fact that she became on of those women that didn't know who was the father of her baby- she felt like a slut.  
Peter needed a few seconds to take in the words she said, what that meant for them and to swallow his shock before he could muster enough strength to jump off her and out of bed and put his pants back on.  
"Honey...Peter" Kelly shouted desperately before pushing the bed sheets aside and swinging her legs to one side so she was sitting next to him on the bed.  
"WHAT KELLY? WHAT IS THERE LEFT TO SAY?" He shouted back, clearly hurt.  
"Talk to me instead of running away" she replied just as hurt. She knew he'd be upset, but angry? It wasn't like she slept with David because she wanted to or because she wanted to get pregnant.  
"You cheated on me and even if you might think that isn't wrong because i did it myself- it is the worst thing you could've done to me- nothing more left to say" Peter said, his voice not a scream anymore but filled with hurt and disappointment.  
Kelly's jaw dropped when she heard what he said and her eyes filled with tears. That was what he thought of her? She'd cheat on him? HE was the reason she didn't know who was her baby's father, because she cheated on her fiancé with HIM that night.  
"You are a damn asshole" Kelly shouted back at him, angrier than ever that he even thought about the possibility of her cheating on him.  
"And what are you? A slut- I thought you loved me"  
"I DO- I did!"  
"AND THAT'S WHY YOU COULDN'T KEEP YOUR PANTIES ON?"  
It was then when he felt it. A throbbing warm hand on his cheek- she had slapped him.  
"What do you think of me Peter" Kelly whispered, another few hot tears prickling down her cheeks.  
Peter turned around to look into her eyes. He could read them like he always could and he knew that very moment that he deserved that slap. He knew why she wasn't sure if he was the father. David.  
"Kelly..." he started and wanted to apologize for even thinking about her cheating on him when he saw her shaking his head, telling him to let her finish her story.  
"I don't know if this baby, if there even is a baby, is yours because of David, Peter. My ex-FIANCE and I'd like to think you are allowed to have sex with your fiancé. Of course I didn't cheat on you. WE both cheated on HIM, Peter" Kelly started but stopped to wipe a few of the fresh tears away from her cheeks.  
"I don't know if it is yours because ...you know... the David-thing wasn't over when we started seeing each other".  
"But baby... you still should be able to tell if or/ and when you had sex without protection" Peter said, thinking loudly. Something couldn't be right.  
"Yes. I do remember that night" Kelly admitted hesitantly.  
"So… who did you sleep with Kelly, you can tell me" Peter told her, being more than afraid what her answer would be. What would he do if it was David's child?  
"Peter I..."  
"Just say it already Kelly. I'll have to deal with it anyway"  
"Peter, I slept with you both that night".  
Once again Peter was shocked. She kept sleeping with him after they had their first time?  
"What?? I thought that... after we both..." Peter rambled obviously confused and disappointed.  
"Honey" she interrupted his rambling, while looking down at her hand that she had placed next to her on the bed.  
"It was the night, we made love for the first time" Kelly told him, hoping he would understand.  
"Okay so you wanna tell me you slept with David before I came over helping you with the baby?" Peter asked her, hoping she'd say yes. She didn't.  
"No. I slept with him after I slept with you" Kelly whispered, being ashamed even if she didn't sleep with David because she wanted to.  
"What??? Kelly ... I... I can't believe this. Wasn't I enough for you? I...I thought… I never slept with Paula after you, because I thought we love each other" Peter asked her, being hurt and grabbed his shirt from the chair.  
"Peter… I didn't want to sleep with him" Kelly said quickly before she even thought about it.  
Peter laughed sarcastically "Oh no so your fiancé forced you huh"  
Silence.  
"HE FORCED YOU? This...this...I ...I should've known-- after this… night that I spent almost in a closet watching him have his way with you. I just cant believe it" Peter said and walked over to her before he pulled her bare body against him. "Baby why haven't you said anything. You could've...gone to the police or at least break up with him" he said kissing the top of her hair.  
"I know, but I... Peter everything was complicated and now everything is even more complicated" Kelly said and shook her head. How did she get in this situation?  
"Peter… what...do you think we should do ? I mean what are you thinking?" Kelly asked, afraid of his answer.  
Peter looked down and tried to think about it for a moment. How he wished he could just be there for her, offer her his comfort and tell her everything would be alright and that he loved her, but he found himself being torn. He couldn't just tell her that everything would be alright if he didn't even know if that could ever happen.  
"Kelly I think I need some time to think" Peter told her, hoping she'd know that he didn't do this to torture her, but to help her- and to be honest.  
"Peter..." Kelly tried to stop him, thinking it wouldn't be good for him to be left alone with his terrible thoughts- she knew what that meant and how it'd make him feel.  
"Kelly, I need some time to myself. It is a life-changing thing we are talking about" Peter replied sadly and grabbed his jacket.  
"Baby, Peter please just talk to me" Kelly pleaded and it broke his heart when he turned around to leave.  
"Peter please!" Kelly tried it again, scared to death that she could lose him.  
"I'll be back in the morning- I promise"  
"Do you want to break up with me?"  
"I'll see you soon". And with that he left.

**Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease leave a review (in case that sounded desperate- it's true :P)**

**xxx Thankies.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone! So we are back for you with another chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to post this one but due to personal issues it wasn't possible to post before now. We really hope you enjoy this next instalment and thank you so much for previous reviews, they mean so much to us. X**

**-**

As the door slammed quietly closed behind Peter, Kelly felt herself collapse to the floor in tears as he legs lost their strength, in fact, he whole being lost Its strength. Had she just lost the one thing she loved most in the world? She didn't know but she sure as hell hoped not. Rocking back and forth her sobs were the only sounds filling the apartment as her hands hurriedly attempted to wipe the wetness from her face. Anger, guilt and hate all mustering up inside her. This was her fault, it had to be, right? She hated herself, why did she have to have so much drama in her life?

Noticing herself still naked she weakly got to her feet and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. As she entered the dull looking room the only thing that caught her eye was that make-up bag. That which concealed the answer to her future, her fate lay in its hands, well so to speak. She stood still looking at it innocently lying on the sink like it didn't have a care in the world. Her blurry eyes began to sting as more tears wept out of them. She snapped herself away from it only to step into the shower and switch on the water. She couldn't tell if it was hot or cold, her body felt numb so it didn't matter. She stepped back as the water trickles drowned her hair. She wasn't sure whether is was the water or her tears that stained her cheeks as she stood staring down the plug hole wishing the water would wash away all her feeling and fear, in fact just vanish her of this whole nightmare.

-

Peter walked as quickly as he could away from the apartment, away from her. He didn't know what he was thinking. Unable to get his mind straight he fought with himself. The park was where he found himself ten minutes later. He sat on the cold bench, ignorant to the chill it gave him. Looking around he thought of nothing but her, Kelly, the love of his life. He couldn't understand, why did he get so angry at her? Why didn't she tell him as soon as she suspected something? He couldn't hold her responsible for David's actions, perhaps it was David that he held his true anger for. He didn't know. Looking around the empty park his eyes lingered on the spot where he remembered them play fighting on the grass, then on the tree where he not very sneakily hid from her. A brief smile crossed his lips as he thought of her laughter and their happiness at that moment. Something he wanted to spend the rest of his lifetime in the company of. The smile left his lips as he thought of the way Kelly had slapped him. He undoubtedly deserved it, he had called her a slut...oh God, he had called the woman he loves a slut!! It was unforgivable, by his way of thinking anyway. He remembered at the Wedding, well the almost wedding, he wanted to kill David for calling Kelly a slut and now he had stooped that low himself!

His head fell to his hands as his eyes watered. What a mess. He honestly didn't know what to think. He knew that he shouldn't have walked out, walked away from Kelly but he was afraid of what else would be said if he didn't. He was slightly pissed at the fact that she hadn't told him sooner about the possible baby. Oh the baby, another complication. He allowed himself to freely cry in the darkness of the park, nobody was about to see him. He had potentially just lost all that mattered to him most. And what if there is a baby? What would he do? Obviously he would rather it was his but what if it wasn't. Would he be able to love it, would it just remind him of David every time he looked at it? Would Kelly go back to David? NO! Of course she wouldn't. Right? In his confusion Peter found it impossible to be sure of anything. As irrational ideas and thoughts flowed through his mind he failed to distinguish probable from improbable, and possible from impossible. Would he and Kelly ever be the same again?

-

Kelly stood gazing absent minded out of the window, the black night sky was all that met her eyes. Dull just like how she felt. She desperately wanted Peter to walk back through the apartment door, but it wasn't morning yet. She was worried, where was he, I mean he just left and was what? Wandering around all night? This was New York! Anything could happen! She wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her body in an attempt to ease her shivering, her wet hair, of course, wasn't effective in keeping her warm. She rubbed her tired and sore eyes as she heaved a heavy sigh. Where was he? She couldn't even phone him because his phone still lay on the bedside table next to his wallet. At least he's not worth mugging she thought to herself. Not that the thought comforted her! What was he thinking? Would he even come back in the morning? Yes, of course he would! Wouldn't he?

-

Peter sighed nervously as he approached his apartment the next morning. If sitting in the park all night hadn't cleared his head then nothing would. There was no point funning from the situation or even hiding from it. The only way they could get past this was to stay calm and talk it out. Kelly was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling when Peter crept through the door the next morning. As soon as she heard him she bolted upright. Their eyes locked immediately. Neither spoke nor even changed was their expression, all that was recognised was sadness and regret.

"Hi" Peter eventually whispered through the crisp air as he moved to sit on the bed next to her.

Kelly offered only a small smile in return. "Where were you?" she almost cried her whisper.

"In the park" he stated simply.

They both bowed their heads as silence to president again. Kelly had so much she wanted to say, she just couldn't bring herself to say it. The silence began to linger.

"I'm sorry" Kelly eventually managed to blubber through her tears which were now, once again freely flowing.

Peter unable to bear her being so upset before him wrapped his strong arms around her pulling her against his chest as she sobbed freely. He stroked her hair in an attempt to sooth her and calm her, it didn't work

"I don't want you to hate me" she sobbed into his chest slightly shocking him.

"NO!" he pulled her head out so that she was looking him in the eyes as he held her cheeks. "I don't hate you; I could never hate you. Please don't ever think that!"

Using his thumb he wiped away whatever tears were on her cheeks before letting go of her. She sat there, motionless, hoping he was going to tell her it would all be ok. She waited nervously as he turned his head from her and bowed it.

"I hate him." He whispered guiltily.

"I know" Kelly answered knowing he was talking about David.

She put her hand on the back of his neck and ran her fingers through the small hairs that sat there. It pained her to see him like this. He turned himself round on the bed so that he now faced her.

"Kel..." he began but stopped.

Kelly felt her heart jumping as the thought entered her head. "Are you leaving me?" she muttered sadly fully expecting his answer to be yes.

"What!" Peter looked at her with all the guilt in the world, "don't be daft" he said as he took her hands in his, noticing how cold they were. He absent minded rubbed his thumbs over her hands as he searched her eyes. "I was trying to find the words to tell you that I hate myself for stooping as low as David did at the wedding, when he called you a slut. I could have killed him, and now I too called you one."

Kelly could clearly see the regret in his eyes, how sorry he was for even thinking those words about her never mind saying them to her.

"Well I did slap you." She sort of laughed trying to make him feel better.

Peter stifled a giggle.

Peter gently tucked her hair behind her ear and made her look up at him before he began to speak.

"Baby, I am so sorry that I got angry with, I'm sorry that we fought but most of all I am sorry that I walked away from you. I can assure you it will never happen again. We are in this together. If you are, pregnant, then I am here to support you and help you raise the baby, no matter what the situation I will always view it as our child, my son or daughter."

"Oh what are we gonna do?" Kelly sighed to him after a moment, feeling a little more comfortable in the situation.

Peter drew a deep breath, coming back and seeing Kelly again had given him the answer he had been searching for.

"We are going to go into the bathroom and look at the test together." He said rationally after clearing his throat. "We are going to get the answer together."

"Peter? If I am pregnant, will you be happy?" She asked wearily.

"I'll be happy with whatever answer as long as I am with you." He answered honestly.

"Me too." She said, "Though a bigger part of me would rather it was negative. I'm not saying I don't want children with you, I just don't think we are ready, I mean we haven't even found a house together yet."

"I know." Peter agreed. "It would be better if it was negative for the time being."

They sat and looked at each other for a moment. Not talking, just preparing themselves. Kelly was snapped out of her day dream when Peter stood up off the bed and reached out his hand to her.

"Come on. Let's go and find out." He spoke softly. "no point in postponing it any longer than we have to."

She slowly accepted his hand as he helped her off the bed and lead her towards the bathroom.

There it was again, that innocent looking make-up bag which concealed their future. Peter gently took a step towards it and picked it up slowly, turning to face Kelly he started to open the zip. Kelly's eyes were fixated on his fingers as he finished unzipping the case. Just as he was about to open it and remove the test he found her hand on top of his urging him to stop. His eyes moved up from her hand to her eyes as he noticed her frightened look.

"I'm scared." She whispered.

"I know, me too." He tried to comfort her by pulling her into a tight hug and kissing her forehead. "But we have to do this. We will feel better once we know."

He felt her nod into his chest before he released his grip on her. He placed his hand gently on her cheek as he stroked her smooth skin.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." She smiled back.

Peter pulled the test out of the case and pulled Kelly close to him slipping his arm around her shoulder. They took one last look at each other before he held the test up for them to see and they stared at the result.

Kelly let out the deep breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, as she buried her head in Peter's shoulder and slipped her arms around his waist gripping him tightly.

"Are you okay baby?" he asked after a moment.

Kelly pulled her head out of its position so that she could look at him.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I mean that sign means negative right?"

"Yeah."

"So it means I'm not pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah" he laughed at her.

"Then I'm great." She smiled back before reaching up and leaving a light kiss on his lips.

She reached over and took the test from his hands and looked at it once more before placing it in the bin and returning to where Peter now sat on the edge of the bath. Placing herself on his knee she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on top of his.

"I never want to fight with you again." She whispered matter of factly.

Peter smiled to himself before placing a kiss on her upper chest where there was a gap in her dressing gown which exposed her skin. His mouth then moved to place a kiss on her neck, then her chin before he stopped on front of her lips. Her hands moved to his cheeks as she brought his head closer closing the gap between them.

Their lips brushed lightly off each other's as they made light contact with each other. Peter immediately followed up this action by placing several light kisses on her lips before engaging her in a passionate embrace. His tongue ran along her bottom lip as he asked her for entrance, she, of course, complied. Their tongues met slowly as they savoured the taste of each other. Kelly's hands tangled themselves in his hair as the kiss deepened and she prevented him from pulling away. Peter ran his tongue over hers enjoying the taste and feel. He had missed it since the last time.

Moving his mouth from hers Peter kissed his way down her neck tender and lovingly hitting all her favourite spots, lingering on them until satisfied. Kelly moaned lightly as he sucked and licked at her soft skin. They were back to normal. His mouth got increasingly lower as she felt his hands on the tie of her dressing gown. She considered stopping him but changed her mind, enjoying the moment while she could. He unfastened the belt and stopped kissing her as he watched it fall open, her naked body beneath the towelled material only turned him on more.

His mouth sought out her skin again as his lips headed for her breasts. Teasingly he moved his mouth slowly over her skin allowing his lips to tickle her breasts before he took her nipple into his mouth. Kissing it tenderly he made her moan, music to his ears. Kelly's hand found their way to the back of his neck holding him against her and urging him not to stop. His hands found their way under her dressing gown and onto her bare back where he caressed her skin softly.

"Hmmm, Peter...baby...bedroom." she managed to form.

Peter's mouth left her skin as he stood up off the bath taking her with him. His lips met with hers once again in a deep kiss, as their tongues tangoed with each other he gently walked her backward out of the bathroom and towards the bed. As they neared the bed Kelly was so lost in the kiss that she barely noticed his hands sneak up over her shoulders and push her dressing gown to the floor. He pushed her naked form down onto the bed as he broke their lips apart from each other's. She watched him as she fell, he began to unbutton his own shirt. Deciding he was too slow she sat forward and undid his trousers for him before pushing them and his boxers to the floor and releasing his obvious erection.

Once his shirt joined the pile on the floor he joined Kelly on the bed. He lay himself gently on top of her as he met her lips again. His hands wandered up her sides until they met her hardened point where his mouth had been previously. He massaged them gently as he heard his name escape her lips. He pressed his groin against her and almost moaned himself, he could feel her wet and he knew they were both ready.

Withdrawing his lips from hers he looked her in the eyes as he shifted his position between her legs so his tip hovered at her entrance. He placed one last light peck on her lips before he plunged into her slowly. Kelly moaned out loud as she felt him fill her at a pleasurable speed, he too obviously wanted it to be slow. She felt light kisses on her neck as Peter buried his head into her shoulders as he thrust carefully in and out of her. The feeling of him insider her once again was the best Kelly had ever experienced. Her nails dug into his back as her walls tightened around him and she lost control, as did he. Their names were heard in harmony as they completed their experience.

Peter collapsed down on top of Kelly, as she smoothed his hair from his face and both regulated their breathing once again. Their companionship had returned. Slowly withdrawing himself from her Peter rolled over and onto his back, Kelly was about to place her head on his chest when he spoke.

"Baby I just realised that we didn't use protection! And after everything that just happened." He said alarmed.

"It's okay, I'm on the pill just now anyway." She tried to reassure him.

"Oh okay. He smiled, sorry."

Kelly smiled back as she kissed his moist lips. "You don't have to be sorry."

Peter ran his fingers through her hair as her head rested on his chest.

"You tired baby?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep last night knowing you were out there alone somewhere." She said sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"I told you not to be sorry." She giggled. "I'm guessing you didn't sleep either?" she asked half rhetorically. "So why don't we just have a nap just now."

"Good idea" he whispered contented as he watched her eyes begin to droop closed.

"I never want to be without you" she whispered lightly as she placed one last kiss on his chest and settled off to sleep.

"You're never going to be." He replied not sure if she was already asleep.

It didn't take long before they both lay in a comfortable deep slumber.

-

Exhausted from their trip the now, once again happy couple sauntered into Kelly's, no, their LA apartment and almost immediately collapsed down on the couch.

"Uh, I wish I could say home sweet home." Kelly sighed as she tilted her head to the side to face Peter.

He just offered a sympathetic smile.

"I used to like this apartment, now there are just too many things to remember here."

"Not all of them are bad though." Peter tried to comfort, "like this very couch, holds good memories for me."

Kelly giggled slightly. "Okay this apartment minus the couch hold things that I just don't want to remember anymore."

"We'll find a house." Peter offered as he pulled her against his body and held her close. "Somewhere we love where the memories will start and finish with us."

"I'd love that." Kelly sighed before twisting her head to give him a kiss.

Both shattered from lack of sleep and the flight they had just taken home they headed to bed where they cuddled together under the covers, lulling each other to sleep with the sense of security that surrounded them.

Between being back at work, dealing with the press and hunting for their dream house Kelly and Peter were exhausted and barely had a moment together. House hunting had to be separately as their busy schedules had them filming scenes at different times of the day and night.

"I'm home." Kelly's voice beamed through the apartment as she returned from work.

"Hey baby." Peter was there to greet her immediately. Taking her coat off her shoulders and hanging it up and placing a sweet kiss on her lips. "Good day?"

"Oh it was alright. What about you."

Peter just nodded his head and implied it was uneventful. "I ran you a bath." He offered.

"Really?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Hmm hmm." He grinned as he took her hand and lead her to the bathroom.

"And are you going to be joining me in the tub full of bubbles?" she asked suggestively as she began to undo his shirt buttons.

It didn't take long for them to be stripped and in the bath together with Kelly lying between his legs leaning her back against his chest.

"I really don't think this bath was made for two." Peter giggled as he changed position slightly making her giggle.

"Well when i bought the apartment I wasn't expecting it to be needed for two." She said back slightly sarcastically.

He giggled slightly before turning serious. "So, baby I wanted to ask you about something."

"Okay," she said twisting her neck so that she could see his face.

"Are you sure there isn't anything specific you were thinking you want our new house to be like?"

She smiled at him, "as long as it has a bigger bath tub and you in it, then I will love it."

He smiled at her and reached down so he could press his lips against hers, his mouth opened when her tongue sought entrance as the kiss deepened and passion soared. When he pulled away they both lay slightly breathless as he tried to continue the conversation.

"Well, what if I told you, that i found a wonderful house not too far from here, it's private and secluded, lovely garden, swimming pool, everything we need and a big bath tub?"

"Affordable?" she smiled getting slightly excited.

"We could afford it." He confirmed.

"Then I would say take me to look at it."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow" Kelly nodded before her lips were pressed to his once again as they tried to make the most if each other the best they could in the small bath.

-

Kelly stared at the house in awe as peter walked her up the long drive hand in hand. This house was huge.

"It's a place!" She muttered as she walked closer towards it.

"Well then it is perfect for you." Peter replied as he moved his hand so it was wrapped around her shoulder. "Wanna look inside?"

"Yes please!" She beamed like a five year old kid getting a treat.

They walked around the whole house hand in hand, fantasising what they could do with each different room, and there were plenty of them. Peter was right the bath tub was massive! Kelly smiled the whole way around the place, over the balconies with their round pillars, the tall class windows and outside the terraced are for a barbeque and table and chairs, then a cute wee garden path leading to an amazing swimming pool and a hot tub. Then grass as far as you could see and trees planted all around making it private.

Peter walked up behind her as she stood on the upstairs balcony looking over the view down to the ocean and wrapped his strong arms around her waist while his head rested on her shoulder, he placed a light kiss on her neck before letting out a happy breath.

"So? What do you think?"

"I think..." Kelly spun around in his arms as he hands locked together behind his neck, "living here, in this house, with you, would be beyond my wildest dreams."

Peter smiled as their lips met because he too loved the house.

"So shall we make an offer?"

Kelly just nodded. "And there is plenty room for if your kids ever wanted to come and stay," she commented half letting him know that she would be alright with that any time.

Again Peter just smiled and kissed her.

-

"PETER!!!" Kelly shouted as she came running through the main set of filming.

Peter immediately turned round away from Josh and the directors to see Kelly running at him.

"WE GOT THE HOUSE!" she shouted at the top of her voice.

Peter's face lit up, they got the house, he and Kelly were going to live together, they got the house! He moved towards her until their arms met, picking her right up off the ground he spun her round in a circle as she squealed. To make herself a little steadier she wrapped her legs around his waist as he spun her and her hand travelled to the back of his neck as she held on tight. When he brought them to a standstill both their smiles were as wide as ever. She leaned her head down not caring that everyone was watching their happy display of affection and captured his lips in hers before parting them and making them meet again several times.

"I love you." She whispered between kisses.

"I...love ...you...too." he replied.

Placing her back on the ground they embraced in a tight hug once again as they tried to let it sink in that they are going to live together in their dream home.

"Can we get back to filming now?" Josh's voice interrupted. "If you guys do your last couple scenes now you can have time to start packing up."

Kelly and Peter did just that they finished their last couple of scenes without too many takes, which wasn't surprising as two out of the three scenes were making out between Sandy and Kirsten, the easiest thing they knew.

Kirsten stood not too far from the front door as she stared up the spiral staircase.

"We did it." Came that deep voice that she knew so well.

"Yes we did." She said proudly as she turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist as he kissed the top of her head. "Everything is as it should be."

"Well not everything" he spoke suggestively as he turned to face her and placed a long lingering kiss on her lips.

"Really?" she played along.

"Yeah, we have a lot of new rooms and more importantly even more items of furniture to christen."

"Wow that is a lot." She laughed as he picked her up and started to carry her towards the stairs.

"Where should we start?" he asked as their lips connected once again.

-

**Well folks that's it for another chapter. And again sorry for keeping you waiting.**

**Please please please leave us a review!!!! Love x**


	17. Chapter 17

**_Hey guys! Sorry that it took (once again) so long for us to update. And I have bad news for you because Cohenwannabe will be away for the next two weeks and we thought about a nice cliffhanger for you so you wouldnt stop being interesting in reading "Now or never" hehe arent we just lovely? Well we hope you enjoy the next chapter we have for you. (Oh, and THANK YOU for the reviews on the last chapter!! They made our day ;D). xxx_**

Kelly's giggles floated through the spacey bathroom as she watched Peter attempting to give her a sexy striptease

Kelly's giggles floated through the spacey bathroom as she watched Peter attempting to give her a sexy striptease- and Kelly said the word "attempt" with lots of love.

Peter was just trying to open his pants in the sexiest way possible, which ended with him stumbling around the room to prevent himself from falling over his own feet.

Kelly covered her mouth with a hand to stop herself from laughing any louder while she enjoyed the show from her comfortable position on the edge of the bathtub.

It was just a moment later that Kelly heard the doorbell ring over the light sound of the music.

She groaned inside while she lifted a finger for Peter to signal that he shouldn't move and she'd be right back.

Peter pouted playfully as he watched her leaving the room with her back through the door first to make sure she didn't miss a single part of him.

Kelly practically ran down the stairs, as she was desperate to get back to her hottie of a boyfriend.

When she finally reached the front door, she swung it open only to be met by the guy who brought them their weekly newspaper. Kelly groaned silently to herself because of the unimportant interruption. _She could be watching Peter Gallagher getting rid of his boxers right now! _Her slight annoyance explained itself.

"Hi Miss err… Mrs. R" the boy started shyly and Kelly interrupted only too aware that her half-naked man was waiting upstairs for her.

"Kelly is fine. Thank you for this" she said motioning to the paper before taking it in her hands.

"No, err, no problem… Kelly" the shy teenager said and emphasised her name with a sense of pride. Wasn't he just glad that he took that bad-paid half-time job?

She smiled back at him and was just about to push the door closed to race back upstairs to an impatient Peter when the boy said "KELLY!".

Kelly sighed lightly before opening the door again, forcing a smile.

"Yes?"

"I'm, Lukas" he said and Kelly wondered why someone would tell her something so random.

"That's great. Have a nice day Lukas," she said wishing she'd be back upstairs already.

While Kelly's second attempt to close the door failed miserably again because the boy had asked her for an autograph, Peter got impatient waiting for her upstairs. He was already naked because he wasn't able to control himself any longer and decided to simply wrap a short towel around his waist to go and see what Kelly was doing so long downstairs.

He quickly regretted his decision when he saw the young boy blushing every time Kelly made eye contact with him.

"Baby" Kelly heard from the top of the stairs and cringed. Oh, dear. He had the best timing in the world.

"I'll be right upstairs. Just wait for…" she was trying to say when she saw Peter at the bottom of the stairs, only wearing a very very short towel indeed.

Kelly turned back around to look at Lukas, hoping desperately he hadn't seen the naked man behind her. The moment she looked into his eyes and saw his open mouth, she knew it was too late. _He had seen him_.

"H…hi Sir" he whispered nervously to Peter who gave him just a friendly nod.

Kelly didn't know if she felt like laughing or crying at the current situation: She, Kelly Rowan stood on her doorstep, talking to a teenager who just saw her almost naked boyfriend standing in the hall. A boy, who delivers N E W S P A P E R S – yes, a paperboy. Wasn't this coincidence just perfect seen as they had tried to have as less as possible to do with papers, the press, media and publicity in general?

After almost 10 minutes, they finally got rid of "one of Kelly's biggest fans" as Lukas put it and Kelly and Peter looked at each other and sighed. Who knew when Kelly went downstairs that it would practically ruin their free afternoon together?

Of course, nobody knew, because that was nothing but the case. As soon as Kelly shut the door behind her, Peter had closed the unwanted gap between their bodies before he lifted a giggling Kelly up in a fireman's lift and carried her back upstairs to finish his now very short job.

All that could be heard for the rest of the afternoon were the slight giggles from the bathroom that were only interrupted by low grunts and soft sighs which could be barely heard over the still lightly playing tune of the song Peter had put on a little earlier.

They moved in rhythm with the light waves they produced in the water and along the soft melody of the music. He completed her. She completed him. That was everything either of them cared about and no little interruption could ever ruin this feeling of completion for them.

The next days went great for both Peter and Kelly- after they had almost lived one month together and both enjoyed every single minute of it except for the stress with the unpacking and paper stuff that still needed to get filled out.

Thanks to Paula's nice surprise, which Peter had found out because he listened to the text of her answering machine, Peter had been a little down. The text said she was away with the kids for the weekend, which meant Peter couldn't talk to them as soon as he had hoped but Kelly had quickly made sure that he was okay and thanks to her he was.

Well, and thanks to the impression Peter had made on David the other day, Kelly hadn't heard of him again, which she was more than grateful for.

Both could really say that their current life and relationship felt like heaven, a cheesy love story, a fairytale. They couldn't keep their hands off each other when they had company and they couldn't stop touching each other when they had moments alone. Conclusion: They were all over each other all the time.

Peter, for one, enjoyed every single moment he had with Kelly simply because he discovered a new Peter for himself. The romantic Peter who's heart beat faster every time he saw a, _that_, woman. The man that was happy again and had every reason to. Peter Gallagher a content man who was simply in love.

It hadn't even been half a year since all the drama had entered their lives: Their hidden affair, the wedding, the pregnancy. And Peter and Kelly would say that was enough drama for ten lives. Yes there was still a lot of time needed to forget about everything. Or there should be, but Peter and Kelly seemed happy and they lived in the present not in the past. The only thing left that bothered them a little bit was that Peter hadn't talked to his kids yet but that would come eventually, too.

Peter stretched his body in bed with a slight smile. They both would be returning to work- not together but at least they both would do the job they loved before seeing each other in the evening. He remained in a sitting position and turned around to look at his still sleeping girlfriend. Sometimes he still couldn't believe what kind of life he was living: His dream had come true, after more than 4 long years. He was allowed to call the beautiful woman beside him his _Girlfriend_. His woman. Someday probably his fiancée and his, for god's sake, _wife_.

Another smile crossed his lips at the thought before he gentle brushed some of the hair in her forehead behind her ear to see her gorgeous face properly.

Kelly stirred lightly in her sleep when she felt something tickling her face.

"Kelly?" Peter asked a little amused. She was usually the early-morning person and would need to wake him up so he wouldn't be late for work, this morning, however it was the other way around.

She groaned little before turning around and towards him. Peter chuckled when he saw the deep frown on her forehead- yeah, definitely the other way around.

"Morning sunshine" Peter joked before leaning down and kissing her gently on the cheek.

She immediately opened her eyes before closing them again because her eyes hadn't adjusted to the bright sun that could be seen through their almost see-through curtains.

"Wow who bought these stupid curtains" she murmured and buried her head in her hands. Another chuckle escaped Peter lips before he slowly leant down so he could whisper in her ear. "I think that was you my dear" he said quietly with a sense of amusement in his voice. Kelly's head shut up and she looked at him playfully mad.

"Fine then, say it" she said.

Peter used the hand he had put on her cheek to pull her a little closer until his lips could meet hers. After he pulled away a few inches, he looked her straight in the eyes and said "I, told, you, so".

Kelly couldn't suppress a light giggle as she pulled him closer again and kissed his lips hard.

"We, have, to, get, ready, for, work" Peter murmured through the passionate kiss, making Kelly release a loud irritated groan before she pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Rowan, I would've liked to stay in bed, too" he said and kissed her lips briefly before he swung his legs out of bed and began towards the bathroom.

She sat there for a few seconds before shouting after him "Wow, Peter, after one month with me you are already denying me my daily sex-dose. I don't know if I can live with that" she said loud enough for him to hear over the sound of the pouring water. Kelly heard a quiet chuckle from the bathroom and smiled herself. Oh how she loved these simple mornings with him. She loved having someone to wake up to. She loved being wakened by someone next to you. She loved getting dressed in the morning, knowing that you wouldn't be the one that undressed you in the evening. She loved listening to someone in the shower who sang along to an old song in the radio. She just loved these little jokes in the morning that would lighten her day already. She loved knowing that she wouldn't need to come home to an empty house in the evening. She loved to have someone that would ask her how her day had been and would actually listen when she answered. _She loved that Peter was her someone_.

"Baby I'm gonna go" Peter shouted through the house. He was standing in the kitchen and had to admit that he was slightly nervous about meeting the new cast and producers. The O.C. had a filming break so Kelly and Peter thought they'd look for a little new job to keep them busy without being too occupied to see each other enough.

"Wait, wait, wait, don't go without saying goodbye" Kelly shouted back from upstairs. She was in a bit of a hurry and already too late for her own date with one of the producers of her new movie.

Peter shook his head smiling. He should've known that she wouldn't let him leave so easily.

After at least 5 minutes, Kelly finally arrived in the kitchen and wrapped her arms around his body to embrace him in a tight hug. "You'll be absolutely fine. They will love you. I know you can do it," she whispered reassuringly in his ear. He didn't need to voice out how nervous he was- she understood him without words.

Peter smiled. Oh god, how he loved that woman. A few words of reassurance were enough to give him back his self-confidence and passion for his job- only Kelly could do that, he was sure.

"Thanks baby" he whispered back before he broke their hug to embrace her in a long kiss. Kelly felt his lips parting and did the same, letting his tongue slide into her mouth for a moment. Kelly sighed at the sweet taste they produced together before she forced herself to pull back, knowing what their deep kisses usually led to.

Peter smiled at her and took both her hands in his, looking her in the eyes as he spoke. "And for you, honey, have a good day. I'd say 'good luck' but you don't need it" he said lovingly and received another prolonged kiss to thank him.

After they parted for the countless time that morning, Kelly grabbed her handbag and rushed Peter out of the door, following close behind.

This they would be important for the both of them and both hoped that everything would go as well as they had imagined it when they decided to do another job along with the O.C.

Peter sighed while he drove along a busy road. He knew he'd arrive too late, which he hated. Groaning at the 6th red traffic light, he pulled out his cell phone to dial a familiar number.

Peter was relieved when she picked up only seconds later "Hi baby, everything okay?".

He grinned. "Hey, yes I just thought I'd call you before you have this job-thing to make sure you arrived safely and to ask everything else a good boyfriend would ask" he joked and smiled when he heard the woman on the other side giggle.

"Well, I'm glad you did. Yes, I'm here and everything looks good. I've spoken to two cast members and they seemed quite nice" she explained and Peter smiled to himself, being nothing but glad that everything was going great for her.

"Nice cast-members huh? Men?" Peter asked playfully and heard another one of Kelly's wonderful giggles.

"Who knows, Mr.Gallagher, jealous?" she asked back and was met with silence as he tried to make up a good response.

"Uhh no" he simply said and Kelly grinned.

"Well handsome as much as I loved your call, I think I'm up next and should look over the lines. I want to make a good impression on the guys you know" she explained regretting it a little.

Peter nodded before he realised she couldn't see him. "Err yeah, of course. But let me get this straight first: The guys, like the producers or the guys, like the 'nice cast-members'" he asked teasingly, mimicking her voice at the end.

Kelly laughed at his questions before she answered. "Byee honey, see you later," she said in a sing-sang-tone and pressed the red button before any objections could be heard.

Peter's jaw dropped to the floor. "Hey!" he said to himself as he slid his phone back into his pocket. "She'll pay for that later" he told himself in his head and smiled at the sudden thought. Smiled until he heard the many car horns from behind him that belonged to angry people that wanted to signal to him to "freakin" move.

Sighing, he braced himself for the rest of the boring and long car journey that still lay ahead.

When Peter finally arrived, he apologised to everyone and was quickly called into a room where three tall men were waiting for him- not threatening at all.

"Mr. Gallagher?" The man who was sitting in the middle of a large wooden table asked him. Peter nodded and wondered why he was being so incredibly nervous.

"Yes, that's me, hi" he said and shook the three hands which seemed to be as twice as big as his and Kelly always claimed how big his were already- again, not threatening at all, Peter.

"Please sit down" one of the men said and Peter sat down on the chair in front of them. He couldn't help but feel like he was a criminal that sat in a court room and waited to hear what his punishment would be.

"I'm Mr. Williams" the man in the middle introduced himself before doing the same to the men next to him whose names Peter couldn't remember for the world.

"Oh, so I've talked to you on the phone" Peter said, trying to make this situation a little lighter.

"I guess so" the guy opposite Peter replied and he wondered if these three were a gay couple who finished each others sentences all the time.

"Mr. Gallagher" Mr. Williams started to say but Peter interrupted "Peter".

Mr.Williams didn't seem to like the interruption as he stiffed in his seat and threw him a cold look. "Peter" he corrected himself "unfortunately I have bad news for you".

Peter nodded. He couldn't get fired before he even started to film just because he got stuck in a traffic jam.

"Me and my partners have decided that you aren't … the right actor for this character" he explained and Peter couldn't help but say "Wow only one week ago you told me you'd want me at any price. Weird how opinions change sometimes huh?" he asked the three men a little respectless but he didn't care. He knew their problem wasn't that he didn't "fit" with the cast.

Peter got up from his chair as one of the men apologised. He didn't need to hear this crap, knowing there had to be another reason why they didn't want them all of a sudden. Maybe they read something bad about him in the paper that could be bad for their publicity but he had really thought Kelly and him had handled that pretty well and barely anything bad was said about them. Maybe there was another reason he simply didn't know.

Peter left the set angrily. He was angry because of how these PEOPLE were talking to him. He was angry that he didn't get the job that was almost sure to be his. He was angry that he drove all the way up there just to get a rejection.

Kelly parked in her garage after a long, good day. She was content with how everything went today and her new colleagues seemed very nice. Kelly had always said that a good cast is the most important thing in a production for a new Tv Show or a new movie.

Smiling at the beautiful house in front of her or mostly at the thought that it was hers and Peter's, she pressed a button and watched the garage close itself for a moment. She then climbed up the many stairs to their front door and was pleasantly surprised to find it open.

_Someone to come home to!_

She had actually thought Peter would be home later seen as he had to drive all the way up to the new set, but she was definitely not the one complaining that he was home earlier.

Kelly slid the jacket off her shoulders and slipped of her high heels. She was grateful for the coldness that hit her feet. She closed her eyes for a second and enjoyed the feeling before she began to look for Peter in their enormous house.

"Now that could take a while" Kelly thought and giggled. After she was finished with looking downstairs everywhere she climbed up the spiral steps and looked in room after room on her journey to her one and only.

Of course, she could've called him, but she wanted to surprise him with her arrival.

The last room that was left was their bedroom and Kelly smiled at the thought that he was already in the room she liked to have him most.

Her smile faded however when she found him looking absentmindedly out the window. She had expected him to be either waiting here for her or for him to be downstairs watching television or starting with dinner.

She tiptoed over to him and when she reached him she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Peter looked outside and watched the light waves the wind had left in the water of the pool. He hadn't been himself all day and couldn't stop asking himself why these people didn't want him today. Only a week ago they were desperate to have him in their team and now they simply rejected him. That job hadn't been any more important to him than others but he didn't like it when people promised something and broke this promise and especially when he didn't do anything wrong.

He was just debating in his mind to call these guys back to know why he didn't get the job, when he felt the familiar arms of Kelly sliding around his waist.

"Hi" she whispered softly in his ear and he turned around to kiss her hello.

"Hi baby" he said his eyes looking from her eyes, to her lips, to her shoulders, all the way down her arms until he looked at their entwined hands.

Kelly started to get even more worried when he couldn't look in her eyes for more than two seconds.

"Honey, you okay?" she asked and untangled one of her hands from his to lift his chin so he'd have to look at her.

"Yeah" he said but he knew she'd know he'd be lying the second the last letter left his lips.

"Peter" she said waiting for his eyes to meet hers "Talk to me".

He smiled at her concern. Yes, he had been better but on the other hand… it was just a job not the end of the world, right?

"I didn't get the job," he simply said and this time looked her straight in the eyes.

"Aww baby, I'm sorry, did they tell you why? I thought you were supposed to start filming today" she asked and stroked his cheek with a hand. Peter pulled her a little closer to his body, already feeling better with having her so close to him.

"Yeah, well I was, but they've obviously changed their opinion. They didn't actually say why, well they did but I don't believe them. But let's not talk about this, it had ruined my day and I don't want it to ruin _our_ night" he explained to her and caught her lips in his for a sensual kiss.

Kelly broke it to draw a close to this conversation "Well, honey, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to but I'd suggest that you call them first thing tomorrow so you can make peace with their decision" she proposed and he smiled down at her.

"Okay" he whispered back to her before he kissed her hard on the lips.

She let herself get lost in his kisses and giggled when she heard him whispering to her through it. "I, think, I, should, get, back, at, you, for, just, hanging, up, on, me, today".

Immediately after saying this, Peter pushed her down on their bed to lie over her.

"But I didn't do anything, Mr.Gallagher" she said as innocently as possible after she broke their kiss.

"Uh-huh, we'll see about that" he replied and engaged her into another passionate kiss, making sure there tongues were dancing.

First moans of pleasure escaped both their lips as they tried desperately to get each other as quickly as possible out of their clothes.

When they were finally clothes-less and very aroused they tangled themselves in the sheets, never thinking about breaking their embrace.

Kelly knew they both were already ready for each other as she felt the dampness between her thighs and Peter's hard cock pressed against her inner thigh but this night she wanted to make _sure _she pleased him in the best way possible to take his mind off everything but her.

Peter breathed heavily into her neck as he prepared to enter her and he was more than surprised when Kelly flipped them over and prevented him from doing just that.

She smiled wickedly at him from her position on top of him before she slowly began tracing kissed from his lips, to his jaw line, down his neck, down his sweaty sexy chest and down his hard muscular belly.

She paused at his waistline, loving to tease him by stroking the thin line of hair there. She listened contently to Peter's harsh breaths and smiled when his hands tangled themselves in her hair. _Oh yes, he knew what was coming, too_.

Any teasing forgotten, Kelly finally wrapped her lips around his hardness where she began sucking and blowing him the best way she knew how.

It took Peter barely seconds to feel himself tightening in her warm wet mouth. He pulled her gently away from him, only wanting for them to come together.

She smiled loving how he always thought about her pleasure instead of once about his own. Kelly accepted the invitation to push her lips back against his own moist warm ones.

He couldn't wait any longer as he felt her tongue playing with his and her warm entrance against his shaft.

Peter turned them around and plunged into her without warning, both partners screaming out their pleasure to be connected.

He started with a slowish pace, wanting to freeze time to feel this, _to feel her_, forever.

Of course his plan wasn't very likely to work since it was _Kelly_ he was talking about. As much as the both of them always try to make it an as long experience as possible, at some point they got too desperate to concentrate on the task and the slow pace went out the window.

They reached this point of desperate excitement and Kelly felt Peter quickening his pace.

"Faster, please, honey, oh god" she moaned into his ear and he did just that.

Their sweaty bodies met harder under the luxurious fabric of their sheets and both their breathes couldn't be called controlled anymore.

Peter was simply hanging in there to make sure she had her pleasure first, which became more and more of a difficult task.

Kelly finally felt the warm familiar feeling building up inside her lower stomach and only seconds later, Peter could feel her tighten around himself and he screamed her name in harmony with his own that had escaped her swollen lips.

They both lay in silence for a while. Kelly and Peter were both looking at the ceiling with a slight satisfied smile on their faces. Her hand gripped his tightly and her touch was enough communication between the two lovers.

The silence was broken by Peter, as usual, who asked her about _her_ day. Kelly told him about her the nice cast and the producers and teased him a little bit with her new male colleagues. After they finished talking about their days Peter remembered that he still had to lock the doors and windows for the night.

"Baby?"

"Yes"

"I'm gonna go and lock the doors. I'll be right back. You stay here" he said giggling and Kelly smiled. "Want some help?" she asked but he shook his head. "No, you'll stay right here. I'm not finished with you".

He caught her lips in his for a prolonged kiss before he smiled lovingly at her and her still naked body.

Peter was just finished with locking the million doors and windows of the house when he reached the front door, the last one on his way back to his sweetheart.

He locked it and stepped onto something that didn't belong to the hallway.

Peter kneeled down and stayed in the position to look at it – oh, the paper Kelly had thrown carelessly to the floor earlier to have her hands free for him. He smirked and was just about to stand back up and go back to Kelly when something caught Peter's eye. The headline.

He read it. And he read it again. And again and again and again. He felt like fainting when it still said the same.

Peter didn't know if he wanted to scream in anger or cry in embarrassment. He read it again. And again. And these clearly printed black letters wouldn't stop looking back at him. He read it again. And suddenly he knew why he didn't get the job earlier. He read it again. And again. Then, he stopped.

"Oh my god, Kelly"

**That's it! Aren't **Cliffhangers** just great? Please tell us your opinions. X**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey everyone!**

**Okay so first we are sorry that the update took this long. In our defence though I had exams when I got back from holiday and then I was away visiting Jen so I was a little distracted. But here it is now and we hope you like it.**

**And thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter, they are what inspire us to keep going.**

**-**

Peter couldn't tear his eyes away from the page, well specifically that massive, bold black ink that burned a hole in his mind. Slowly his hand moved to his forehead which seemed clammy before it travelled almost cautiously through his dark locks of hair until he released a breath that he didn't realise he was even holding. He felt like he couldn't move, his best attempt was to sit himself down, right there on the floor in the middle of the hallway, his hands and eyes glued to the deceit before him.

After a very long while he managed to tear his eyes from their capture and move them further down the page, past the small image which held some cheeky caption that he didn't even bother to take much notice of, and finally settling on the opening word of the article...

"**Canadian actress Kelly Rowan destroys happy family without a second thought"**

**LA.** Who hasn't heard of the hit-series „THE O.C."? It's been famous for its interesting storyline and Josh Schwartz who spoke for the hearts of many fans all over the world, called it "a mix of different genres- it's something for everybody".

The cast members themselves described it as "something special that is so fun to film together. It's almost like being the real family instead of just acting like one".

This very statement leaves us wondering now: How close are certain actors and actresses? We especially focused our attention on Canadian actress Kelly Rowan, known for Lifetime movies like "A Crime of Passion" or the blockbuster "187" next to Samuel L. Jackson, and her colleague Peter K. Gallagher- the 52-year old is especially known for his famous guest roles in Broadway-musicals like "Hair" in the early 80s. Both actors' careers had their final breakthrough with the roles of "Mr. and Mrs. Cohen" on "The O.C.".

Although both live as secluded as possible, someone's whispered to us that Kelly Rowan, who got engaged to the richest man in Canada, David Thomson (they had met only _six months_ before Mrs.Rowan agreed to become Mr.Thomson's wife), broke of the engagement and, yes you're reading right, dear readers, leaving the wedding to be with someone else.

Now open your eyes: David Thomson himself verified the information we got last Tuesday from an anonymous person: Kelly Rowan, LA's latest run-away-bride, admitted in front of the wedding guests that she is in love with her old colleague and family-father Peter Gallagher, who appeared to be her "knight in shining armour".

However romantic this modern fairytale might have seemed at first, the reality looks different. Left behind are two broken families just because a cheap affair didn't seem to end.

Kelly Rowan, who had never been mentioned in the press for scandals or any sort of negative news, is now officially the mistress who destroyed a family without a second thought.

What do his poor teenage kids think who didn't have a clue of what was happening until they got a mysterious call? What does David Thomson say about the heartless woman who he had given everything for but who simply betrayed and lied to him in return?

Read the exclusive interviews on **page 27-30**.

-

Peter was overtaken by a wave of different emotions. Rage: yes, Hurt: yes, confusion: yes, fear: yes, disappointment: definitely. He felt them all. He had almost thought they had gotten away from the press with the whole affair, that what had been written in small columns of magazines was all that they would have to defend themselves against, but this, this was the front page of one of the most widely read papers in LA. What were they going to do?

He sat there scanning over the painful passage one last time before flicking to page 27 and the so called interviews Kelly suddenly entered his mind. She would be devastated if she saw this, her name on the headline of the front page along with an appalling accusation. Worse actually she would be heartbroken. He couldn't see her like that, he had witnessed it on only a few occasions before and he hated it. The difference now was she was his to protect, he had the power to keep her safe from the wicked outside world, and he was sure as hell going to try. It seemed like his only option.

-

Kelly was getting a little impatient, normally it didn't take that long to lock the door and check all the windows were closed, I mean yeah there were a lot of windows but they had only been in a few of the rooms today so it shouldn't have taken that long to check them, i mean what was he doing? Bolting and padlocking them? Her impatience got the better of her as she finally decided to go and see what was keeping him from her.

Kelly began her descent down the stairs while tying her silky robe around her claiming all the warmth it would offer her. Silently she gazed for a moment at the shadow form that was on the floor. Why on earth was Peter sitting on the floor? The thought that something could be drastically wrong barely crossed her mind as she decided to sneak up behind him and surprise him.

-

Peter was literally about to flip the pages over to read the rest of their public humiliation when he felt something soft and moist on the rear of his neck and two small things circling his waist. He had been completely oblivious to her presence until now.

"What are you doing on the floor?" she asked before placing another kiss on the back of his neck and resting her head on his shoulder.

Peter suddenly realised that he was sitting there holding the paper in a position that she could see it, that wasn't being protective he told himself.

"Umm, nothing important." He stumbled while trying to casually put the paper aside.

"So you kept me waiting for nothing important?" she asked in a semi-seductive tone trying to let him know she wanted him to come back and join her in the bedroom, little did she know he was anything but in the mood.

He didn't have a reply, well one that would end her wondering so instead he twisted his head to the side tilting it slightly and placed a few brief pecks on her lips. Kelly however wasn't content with the lack of passion and indication in them. All of a sudden she threw herself to her feet whilst grabbing the paper from his hands and began to fold it up as she spoke.

"This...you can read in the morning, but for just now...please lock up and come back to bed?"

Peter didn't reply, he was too busy watching her hands, hoping that she wouldn't fold it up in any way except the correct way, the way that would make the revelation stare her in the face.

"Honey?" her voice this time interrupted his daze.

"Huh? Sorry, what?"

She looked at him with a slight grin of amusement at his disorientation.

"I said, this..."

As her eyes descended and her face fell he knew she had seen it.

Peter released a small breath as his eyes fell closed for a moment of anguish.

He wasn't sure what to do. How should he play this? What is she thinking? Should he get up and take her in his arms and tell her that they will be alright? That they will get through this? Yes. Get up Peter. Get up off the floor. Get up!

Kelly felt the world crash around her as her eyes came into contact with the darkness that the paper held for her. She could see her name, scrolled on the page next to "destroys" and "happy family." Then soon after she was a "mistress" a "cheap affair" and thoughtless.

Didn't they know this was true love? Couldn't people tell that she didn't mean to hurt anyone, that Peter's marriage was anything but happy? Did they really think she was a scheming and heartless family wrecker? Did she really come across as being that shallow? These were people who didn't even know her...right? She couldn't help but feel a single tear trickle down her cheek as her eyes continues to well up.

"It's okay, don't panic, We'll get through this." Were among the things she heard being whispered into her ear from the only other person who knew that this was a complete and utter disgrace, that it was one hundred percent untrue, the only other person that understood the tragedy she felt like she was experiencing.

But what if she did ruin a happy family? What if she had successfully broken a solid family? Could it be true? Was it a possibility?

"Baby, these people don't know you, have no right to judge you."

She felt his hand smooth over her back and his lips meet the side of her head, she let her eyes flicker shut for a moment and almost allowed her tense figure to accept his embrace. Then she realised what he was doing on the floor, why he had been so distracted from her and how he knew what she was reading when he wasn't even looking at the page that was before her right now.

She moved herself from his embrace and turned to face him, still gripping the paper.

"You read it?"

He nodded slightly as she continued.

"You read it and then you tried to hide it from me! Tried to tell me that you weren't doing anything, that it was nothing!" she shouted at him.

Peter knew that a large part of her talking was pain, but why shouldn't she be angry? He felt rage too when he read it. But he regretted that she was angry with him. He only wanted to protect her, to prevent her from suffering, to make her happy. He looked at her. Wiping a few stray tears off of her cheek and all he wanted to do was hold her, comfort her.

"Baby..." he took a step towards her, "Baby, please" he reached out for her as his fingers met her shoulder, for a moment her thought she was going to give up her defence and let him in, but she couldn't.

"Don't..." she barely made eye contact with him. "Don't touch me." She begged weakly before rushing past him and up the stairs.

All he could do was watch her go.

-

Peter wandered around down stairs, locking the doors and closing whatever open windows he could find. He knew he had to follow her, eventually, but he also knew to give her a few moments alone so that her mind could process what was happening. He sauntered around attempting to take as long as he could but secretly he just wanted to run at the stairs and then all the way to their room, make sure she was alright.

Ordinarily they wouldn't pay any attention to what the press had to say to them or about them. They wouldn't even waste their time reading it, but somehow this was different. When he had seen the most important person in his life accused in the most obvious line of the page it really got to him. He couldn't ignore the article and pretend it didn't exist, he couldn't make himself believe that it wasn't a big deal and would blow over in no time. In fact, it was serious and could persuade the public quite easily that they were in the wrong. Well okay maybe they were in the wrong but it wasn't like it was a...what phrase had they used..."cheap affair." They were more in love than ever, they had made out like they had a few rounds of sex and that was it. For goodness sake they had just bought a house together, they had found happiness together, but typical press...they was no implication of that.

When he stood at the bedroom door a few moments later he could see Kelly sitting at one of the chairs, the paper sprawled out on the table before her as her eyes glared at it, though they seemed empty.

"I only wanted to protect you." He whispered.

He knew she had noted his presence but wasn't providing him with her attention. He made his way half cautiously over to her and crouched down at her side.

"Sweetheart," he tried to capture her eyes, "Let me comfort you." His hand gently moved the hair from her face as he spoke "Talk to me."

Her head turned and she looked at him, though very blankly.

"Talk to you?" she asked in slight disbelief. "Talk to you! What do you want me to say?" she was practically shouting at him now. "Sorry? Sorry that I tore apart your happy family, that I turned your kids against you? That I have given you some bad publicity?"

As she shouted it at him it was as if she was admitting it to herself. Like she was telling herself she had done all these horrible things and she wasn't sure she could handle that. She , once again, stormed past him, however this time remained in the same room as she hovered on front of the window, staring out into the almost dark sky. All he bowed his head, this was why he wanted to hide it from her, hoped that she wouldn't ever have to read this paper. To protect her from the pain she was experiencing.

"No." He whispered after a moment, though it was loud enough for her to hear, "because you know that none of that is true."

"Isn't it?" she scoffed without looking at him.

"NO! Of course it's not!" he raised his own voice as he stood up, in an attempt to get through to her. "You know perfectly well that my family was not happy when you and I got together!"

"Your kids seem to think you were. You two appeared to have the perfect marriage they claim. Did you read that bit Peter? Did you make it that far before I interrupted you?" She turned to look at him, all the pain and anger in the world could be reflected from her eyes.

"Well they are lying!" he shouted back being suddenly angry with his kids, and with Paula.

"Really?" she asked sceptically.

"YES!"

"The interview is packed with comments about how much they love you and how they blame me for taking you away from them. How they feel like they have lost their father and don't feel like they are as important to you as they thought. How do you think that makes me feel? To know that I have cause pain to two kids, to know that they resent me for taking your love away from them. If that's what I've done." By the time she finished her ramble the tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, she had just found her new low.

"You haven't done anything of the sort! I love my kids!" he was still shouting but mostly just to make sure she was hearing him. "But I also love you." He finished in a quiet voice, as if it was his last hope at ending their argument.

Kelly didn't reply. She just stood there, breathing harshly and staring at him, realising for the first time since her discovery of the article that this was hurting him too. She was hurting him by taking her own fury out on him. It wasn't his fault, this affected him too even if the paper focused most of the blame on her. She loved him too.

As he watched her expression change he hoped that he had gotten through to her. She inhaled a long staggered breath as she attempted to calm herself.

"I'm sorry." She wept.

"Oh baby," he stepped forward and closed whatever gap lay between them, he pulled her into his embrace, a little relieved when she wrapped her arms tight around his middle and buried her face into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, I know it's not your fault." She sniffed into his shirt.

He allowed his hands to run over her back for a moment as he tried to calm her maybe even relax her a little. When he heard her weak voice apologising he pulled her head from his chest and cupped her cheeks using his thumbs to dry her tears.

"And it's not your fault." He told her as their eyes met.

In his eyes she saw his sincerity. He was talking about everything, not just the article, the whole basis of their relationship, the fact that some people were hurting over what had happened. It wasn't her fault. She would believe anything he told her, because she loved and trusted him. She felt him kiss her forehead and allowed him to lead her to the bed where he sat her down and then faced her.

"We can't let this get between us baby, that's exactly what they want." He had to move his head slightly to make eye contact.

She nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry that I wanted to and tried to keep it from you...I just wanted to...protect you I guess, prevent you from getting hurt." Now it was his eyes that fell to look at his hands as he realised his obvious failure.

"I know." She whispered and stroked his cheek. She waited until he looked back up into her eyes again before she spoke some more. "We'll get through this together, right?"

"Of course! Together we are strong enough to do anything. We are unbreakable baby. Because I love you. He paused to allow her to add her bit.

"And I love you."

"Exactly." He finished and that's all that matters."

She shared a small smile with him before she allowed him to place a delicate but sweet kiss on her lips.

They lay together in the darkness, tight in each other's arms seeking the comfort and safety that it always brought them. For now it was peaceful but they knew that tomorrow they would have to face the music and stand up for themselves and each other.

"Oh my God." Kelly startled him slightly as she sat upright and ran a hand through her hair.

"What? What's wrong?"

"That's why you didn't get that job isn't it? I just realised. They turned you down because of me, the article. Oh Peter I'm so sorry honey."

He was slightly surprised that the thought had just seemed to cross her mind. He knew somewhere in his head that the paper was the exact reason why they sent him packing, but Kelly shouldn't be taking the blame for that.

"No, don't you dare apologise." He sat up bringing himself up next to her. "We don't know that they refused me because of that, however if is is the reason why then I wouldn't want to work with people like them anyway."

She looked a little unconvinced but let it slide for just now. "What are we going to do? How are we going to resolve this...mess?"

"Well, right now we are going to sleep..." She went to interrupt but he wouldn't let her, "we are both exhausted and need to rest, then in the morning we are going to pack a bag and leave L.A. for a little while until this all blows over."

"That sounds like a plan" she conceded. "Where will we go?"

"Anywhere."

She pondered the thought for a moment before looking at him in hopes of him having an answer.

"What about your place in Canada?" he asked.

"It's only a small apartment because David made me sell my house." She warned him.

"That's all we need."

"That and each other?" she half joked.

"Yeah, that and each other." He agreed as he placed a lingering kiss on her lips. "Now come on let's get some sleep and I will phone the airline first thing in the morning.

They fell asleep wrapped safely in each other's arms, forgetting their troubles for a few hours and regaining the strength they had lost during the course of the day.

-

"Baby are you ready to go?" Kelly shouted up to Peter from the kitchen where she drank the last couple of gulps from her coffee mug.

Since waking up this morning Kelly had been feeling that getting away from the misery and the press in LA for a little while was a fantastic idea. In fact right now she was just anxious to get going, the quicker the better as far as she was concerned. Peter had phoned the airline and managed to book them on a flight, first class, up to Toronto. She only hoped that they could make it onto the plane without drawing too much attention to themselves.

"Ready when you are." He smiled slightly as he hovered in the door frame watching her.

"Okay, then we should get going."

He stopped her as she went to walk past him. Taking her by the hands he turned her around to look at him.

"Are you sure you're alright? You seem a little nervous."

"I'm fine." She tried to assure him, "I'm just anxious to get away from here for a while. Away from all the speculation." She released herself from his grasp and headed for the door and her packed, waiting bag.

"Me too, but you seem especially on edge." He joined her at the door watching her assemble her jacket on her body.

"Peter, I'm fine." She said sternly as her hand met the door handle and she swung it open.

They both blinked ferociously as flashes went off from the cameras that now appeared before them. Men and women holding notepads and pens stood mere inches away from them, practically blocking their way and shouting questions at them. Kelly started to freak out at the sight of the paparazzi on their lawn and reacted by slamming the door shut again, anything to make it go away.

"Yeah, I'm not okay." She shook her head as she looked at him helplessly. Hoping he had a plan.

"This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed, "They have no right to harass you like this!"

"No! They have no right to harass _us _like this," Kelly felt the need to correct him.

He reached out to her and pulled her into his embrace feeling her chest rise and fall against his as they breathed heavily.

"Maybe we should wait until they get bored and leave." Kelly suggested.

She was really not used to this. Never before has she opened her door to find paparazzi. In actual fact, never before had there been more than two photographers taking snapshots of her at one time. This was so surreal and unnerving.

"We can't we'll miss the flight. We are just going to have to walk through them."

"Are you crazy!"

"It's our only option."

"You are crazy!" she was almost hysterical and she could feel herself sweating as she slammed her head back onto his chest.

"It will be fine." He made her step back so that she looked at him while he shared his instructions. "Just, keep walking, don't say anything and keep hold of my hand."

She just nodded. This was so absurd and surreal.

As Peter stepped forward to open the door she tugged at his hand with the fingers that were linked through his making him stop and turn to her.

"I'm frightened." She whispered feeling quite stupid.

"I know, me too." He tried to comfort her. "Just take a deep breath and let's go."

He waited a moment until she inhaled deeply and nodded slightly at him. He flung the door open, finding that the cameras and people startled him as much this time as they had the first time. He himself drew in a deep breath before pulling Kelly outside which seemed to cause a rumble amongst their "guests" as they only stopped to lock the door.

The fright on Kelly's face was evident, she was finding this bizarre situation too overwhelming, but then so was Peter. He felt her tighten her gip on his hand as her nails dug in slightly when he began parting the way through them all an leading her to the car. The yelling of questions was hard to ignore, these people were desperate to know more, however they knew whatever they answered would be twisted to seem different that the reality of the situation, and therefore it was safer not to answer at all. Though it was hard.

"Where are you going?" someone shouted.

None of your damn business Peter thought to himself.

"Running away? Been caught guilty and now showing the coward in you?" someone cheekily continued.

Kelly was finding this distressing as they were now about half way through the crowd of unwanted attention. Peter was really angry, first they show up unannounced, uninvited and most definitely unwanted, then they start more accusations and being disrespectful to Kelly, he couldn't take it. He was literally about to snap, as he felt the steam of fury escape from his ears.

"Write this down." He heard one reporter on his left say to his partner. "Guilty actress Kelly Rowan flees her LA home with the word coward written all over her, after the recent revelations of how she tore apart her co-workers happy family for her own gain. There is not a single feeling of remorse for the pain and suffering she has caused others evident about her. In fact she seems almost proud."

On hearing this Peter stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the two men involved, he couldn't let that was slide.

"Bull shit!" he shouted at them. "How dare you talk about her like that! Like she isn't a victim in all of this! Your lies and deceit will come back to haunt you one day..." he was so angry his face turned red, she had only ever seen him shout like this while acting before and even then it wasn't as scary as this, this was a man completely enraged and wanting to fight for what was right. The only thing stopping him from punching that reporter she guess was that he had a bag in one hand and her clutching desperately to the other.

"Don't Peter" she choked out. "They are not worth it." She began to drag him onwards only wanting to reach the car and escape.

"Is your affair worth it?" Another reported shouted as they were almost at the car, this time a woman.

Peter was so angry by this time that he couldn't stop himself from shouting back once again as he zapped the car open and lead Kelly to the passenger door.

"It's NOT an affair! We love each other!" he didn't care how cheesy they would think it sounded, he was so mad and desperately trying not to over step the mark like they were.

He opened her door and helped her into the passenger seat waiting until she fastened her seatbelt before he even thought about closing the door again.

"Peter, get in the car and let's just go." She begged him, knowing that all he really wanted to do at this very moment was start a fight and defend her.

He just nodded at her as he closed her door and made his way around to the driver's seat.

"You're all trespassing and if you aren't all gone in ten minutes then I will sue each and every one of you!" He shouted before jumping in the car, starting the engine and roaring out of the driveway, taking an unusual route in case any tried to follow them.

He had gotten the last word.

-

"So much for not saying anything." Kelly tried to joke and break what she felt was an awkward silence in the tense air between them. But he took it the wrong way.

"I'm sorry okay." He said defensively. "You didn't hear what they were saying about you and I lost it. I won't have anyone disrespecting you like that..."

"Peter, honey, It's okay, I was joking, badly, but I was still joking." She reached her hand over claiming his spare on that rested on his leg and linked her fingers through his own slightly plumper ones trying to show how grateful she was that he defended her in such an insanely terrifying situation.

"I feel like everyone is looking at us and watching our every move." Kelly whispered to him later on as they sat close together with her head on his shoulder at the airport.

"Well then let them look." He kissed the part of her head that he could reach before she lifted it off his shoulder so that they could look at each other. "We have nothing to hide or be ashamed of."

Kelly couldn't help but smile at him. She knew that whatever trouble they were being put through, if the world was testing them, their strength, their love, they would get through it. As long as they had each other nothing else mattered. She couldn't stop herself from leaning up and catching his lips in hers. He was slightly surprised but was by no means going to stop her or pull away. With all the craziness of that morning he was glad to get lost in her, kiss, her taste, even if it would only be for a few moments.

He felt her deepen the kiss and again obliged opening his lips and following suit. Their tongues met briefly as they shared a sweet flavour of themselves. Both let it last for a decent length of time without getting too carried away before Kelly finally pulled away and flashed him a slight grin.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too baby." Was the anticipated reply.

-

It wasn't until slightly later that evening that they finally made it to her apartment in Toronto. Both shattered from the endless waiting about at the airports they made their way to bed deciding to go to the supermarket in the morning and fetch whatever supplies they felt they might need while staying here. They lay in bed, cuddled together, sharing sweet kisses and loving stares but neither particularly in the mood to take it any further. They just wanted to feel each other's presence and comfort.

-

As they walked to the supermarket the next morning Kelly couldn't help but notice how people weren't staring at them. Well most of the people weren't and anyone that was looking in their direction had the simple excuse that they were celebrities and it was an exciting thing to see. Coming here was a good idea, she thought to herself. A good escape. Well almost, her mind was not really at the point of forgetting the article yet, but as long as there wasn't any other ones staring her in the face and laughing at her for the time being she would cope just fine.

She stood in the middle of the shop looking on the magazine rack, she might get bored later and want to read a magazine, she began to wonder just how much of what she would read would actually be true. As she flicked through the pages of a fairly popular Canadian magazine something caught her eye. David.

Peter saw her standing at the magazine stand and knew that she could potentially take a long time to pick an entertaining enough magazine. It was a little ironic actually, that such lies had been written about them and much to their dismay, people believed them, but whenever they picked up a magazine and read about someone else they also believed it. He headed over to her hoping that he would manage to get her to just quickly take a couple and then help him with the rest of the shopping, say for food. He wrapped his arms around her from behind as he let her know he was there, just as he was about to place a kiss on her neck he noticed what she was reading.

"David's got a new girlfriend." She stated bluntly.

"Does that bother you?" he asked cautiously.

Although slightly shocked at his question she decided just to answer it.

"No." She shook her head. "What bothers me is the lovely little paragraph about me."

Peter immediately sensed her sarcasm causing him to take the magazine from her grasp and begin reading at the spot that he finger pointed to. It was going on about David and how his new girlfriend has promised him that he wouldn't hurt him like Kelly had, that nobody should ever be hurt like that and how Kelly doesn't know what she gave up, the line that he noticed most, and guessed that she did too, was the new girlfriend claiming that Kelly had broken his heart and broken his family, especially his relationship with his son.

"His son is a baby, how can their relationship be broken?" He found himself thinking out loud until he looked up and saw her defeated expression.

"Oh baby," he put the magazine back on the shelf, "she's just wanting publicity and trying to make it look like she is a complete angel who isn't just after his money, I mean look, it said she's half his age!"

Kelly was grateful for his attempt to make her feel better but it failed to really help. "Yeah and she's using me to do it."

He didn't have any more words to say to her that he hadn't already said without revisiting the LA paper fiasco.

"Let's just go back to the apartment." She gave up.

"But the food."

"We'll order in." And with that she walked out the door leaving him to follow.

-

"You wanna tell me what's bothering you?" he asked her later on as they lay together on the sofa listening to music.

"Who says something's bothering me?"

"Baby come on, I can tell, don't try to hide it."

"I was just thinking about this whole thing and yesterday when we were leaving LA and that reporter referred to me as a coward."

"Uh huh?" he had to admit he was a little worried where this was going.

"Well I think that he was right."

"What?"

"I am being a coward. I mean someone writes something about me, about us, in a paper which is totally untrue and negative and what do we do? We run away."

"Are you calling me a coward too?"

"After the way you spoke to that reporter to defend me? Never." She joked back before turning serious again. "I'm being serious. I feel like a complete wimp. I can't help but think maybe we should have stayed in LA and dealt with it head on, as daunting as that would be."

"So what are you saying? You wanna go back to LA?"

"Maybe."

He raised his eyebrows and she knew she had to explain further.

"Today in the shop when I saw that passage in the magazine, I realised that no matter where we are we can't escape the press. Today just proved that. Why leave our home to cower away from bad publicity because it upsets us or makes us angry and go somewhere that isn't home where there is only more bad publicity. Does that make sense?" she was slightly afraid of what he was thinking.

"Yeah." He nodded while processing all that she was saying. He had to admit that she had a point.

"So you want to go back home and face whatever comes our way?" he asked as he ran his hand through her soft hair.

"I think it's necessary." She nodded. "But what do you think? I mean this doesn't only affect me."

"I think..." he paused for a moment to get his word choice right. "I think that first of all that you are making a very brave decision and that if it's what you want then you know I will support you."

She smiled at his sincerity. "Yes, but what do _you _want?"

"I want you to be happy."

It wasn't exactly the answer she was looking for but it was sweet and she would accept it for now. Leaning down to meet his lips they shared a soft tender kiss.

"So are we going home?" he sought confirmation.

"We're going home." Kelly repeated before kissing him again.

-

It was a couple night after that and they were back home and trying to deal with all the crap the newspapers and also now the magazines were publishing in an attempt to publicly shame them. The first thing they did when they got home was phone their friends: the other cast members, and Josh to explain the situation and make sure none of them were judging them like the rest of LA seemed to be. Both had to admit it was hard feeling like they couldn't leave their house for fear of being Photographed and another story being constructed about them, but they had to live through it and be as normal as possible. Most of all they had to try and keep their relationship where it had always been: strong. With their frustration they sometimes took it out on the other but became accustom to not being offended by the other. Neither of them wanted to fight with their other half. Surely the press couldn't get much more on them, would get bored of writing about them or a brand new and exciting scandal would happen and they would be off the hook, but until then they would seemingly just have to wait it out.

They sat on the couch watching the television, enjoying the silent company with each other when a two minute celebrity news programme happened to come on during one of the commercial breaks of the programme they were watching. Of course, once again, they had made the headline. Maybe this was all getting a bit too much.

Peter watched Kelly closely, every time the words, "happy family" and "broken" or "destroyed" appeared in line with her name there was something in her expression that showed him she still felt responsible for what had happened, that she didn't fully believe she hadn't ruined any happiness.

"Your still insecure about that aren't you?"

Kelly was surprised at his question but couldn't say no and lie to him.

"I just...I can't help but think that your kids are hurting and it's because I took you from them."

Peter rubbed his forehead with his palm. What could he do to show her that his kids didn't hate her, that they would accept her if they took the chance to know her, if they saw how happy she made him compared to how he used to be.

"I mean it's kind of hard to ignore when it's in every paper and magazine in the city and now on the telly."

He pulled himself off the couch as he made his way over to the table. "I'm going to put a stop to this once and for all."

"How?" she asked confused at his sudden thought. "Peter, what are you doing?"

"I'm making a phone call."

**Okay well that's it, we really hope you liked it and if you want to know who Peter is phoning then please leave us a review and let us know.**

**We love to know what you think. And once again sorry for the delayed update. x**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys!! So, hmmm, how should we word it? S o R R Y that we haven't updated this story for ages? Lol. Hmm let's find a good excuse..ummm... it was Jen's turn to write the new chapter and she was 6 months in France which explains why we havent had the chance to update this year... but we still hope that you still enjoy this story and that you are as excited as we are for the continuation!!! We'll try our best to update on a regular basis from now on ... : )**

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**Now or never 19**

Kelly was a little bit taken aback by the direct answer of her other half but she decided to let him take his all important call and ask the million questions that were in her head later.

Peter waited impatiently as he listened to one –beep- after the other.

He was a little annoyed when the person on the other side of the line wouldn't answer. Of course he didn't want to talk to her but to someone else anyway, but he thought she could need a proper lecture for her childish behaviour as well.

When he heard the last "beep" and then a voice he hadn't heard for a long time saying a few chosen words he didn't pay attention to, he left a short message.

"Paula, it's me. I need to talk to you and the kids. Please tell them to get back to me"

He didn't try to sound any other way than he was feeling. Angry. Disappointed. Betrayed.

When Kelly realised who he was talking to, the questioning look in her eyes softened and she seemed all of a sudden nervous.

"Peter" she tried to interrupt him punching in another number, he obviously knew very well.

He simply lifted a finger to her to tell her that he needed to do this for himself and she couldn't do anything to change his mind.

When she saw Peter's disappointed expression, she new that this person hadn't answered the phone either. This time, he decided not to leave a message.

He obviously thought whoever was on the other side of the line needed to hear his words from himself and not the voice of a cheap cell messenger.

He sighed deeply before he grabbed the phone for a third time, still not meeting Kelly's anxious eyes.

This time all Kelly could observe was Peter's furious eyes softening from anger to love and she knew, no matter who had answered the phone, he or she meant the world to her boyfriend.

She guessed that he was talking to a family member then.

"Hey, it's me". Kelly listened intently to his part of the conversation knowing that if it was something private, he would have left the room.

Before long, Peter's soft voice changed and he sounded suddenly desperate.

"Sweetheart, no no, please let me...wait no...let me...please let me explaa..."

Kelly watched Peter's eyes becoming so sad that it was upsetting her even though she didn't even know the reason for his sudden sadness.

He stood there like a disappointed child, left alone. The phone was tightly grasped by one of his hands, his shoulders hanging down, his head bowed.

She was about to get up from the couch to make him forget whoever had made him sad, when a loud noise made her gasp in pure shock.

Peter had thrown the telephone receiver against a nearby wall. Maybe she couldn't read him as well as she had thought after all.

"Peter, talk to me" Kelly said desperately as she followed her flustered boyfriend around the house. After the mysterious phone call he had walked up to their bedroom without a word, pulled a suitcase out from under the bed and began from then on to throw all kind of things inside.

"Please tell me what's going on" Kelly tried a second time, touching his arm while he kept hurrying about, ignoring her.

When Peter felt her touch, he felt even worse as he looked at her concerned features.

The short glance he shot her was enough for Kelly to know that whatever the person on the phone had said to him had deeply hurt him.

She stopped following him, trying to make sense of the situation whilst sitting down on the bed and waiting for him to finally talk to her.

Peter had a million thoughts running through his head as he paced around the house, trying to find all the things he needed to fly to New York on the next plane. He knew he couldn't tell Kelly what his own daughter had called him, them, on the phone a little while earlier. It had hurt him so much that he knew that if Kelly knew she was the main reason for all of them hurting, in the eyes of his daughter that is, she would go back to all the guilt, the crying, the horrible scenarios in her head- and he couldn't do that to her.

After he read all the things his kids apparently said about them, he thought it was either made up or their kids had said something that was a lot less hurtful and the press had simply changed the story (It wouldn't have been the first time).

A few hours ago he was even still positive that his kids would think reasonably and listen to him. He was sure they'd forgive him the minute they saw and heard how happy Kelly made him. It seemed certain to him that they would love Kelly like their own mother after the first time they'd meet her.

All these thoughts seemed now ridiculous to him.

His kids were furious, hurt, disappointed. They felt lonely, abandoned, lied to.

They said what the newspapers published, meant every word, felt every emotion expressed in those terrible articles.

They wouldn't love Kelly immediately, if at all, they loved their mother and would need a lot of time to trust the person who had, in their eyes, destroyed their little family and broke Paula's heart.

He knew that he needed to face reality eventually and sort things out as family. And as much as it hurt him to admit it- Kelly wasn't family. Not yet at least.

Kelly was lost in her own thoughts, still saddened by the fact that her love was hurting and he wouldn't find enough confidence or trust in her to open up.

She was only pulled out of her own world when Peter entered the room again to throw a small card on top of his clothes and zip up the rather small suitcase.

Kelly was about to try again to get through to him and ask him what the hell he was thinking he was doing with that bag, when she realised what that card had been. His passport.

Where was he going?

"Peter? Is that... your passport? Honey? What the hell is going on? Where do you need to go all of a sudden?" she said and Peter could hear immediately in her tone how nervous and scared she was for him. He needed to give her something, he couldn't just leave the house and come back a few days later. He loved her and even though he wanted nothing more than to protect her from getting hurt, he knew she'd never forgive him if he left without a word.

He took his suitcase in one hand and grabbed her hand with the other, surprising the both of them.

Peter knew it sounded cheesy, but the simple feeling of her hand in his made his world a better place already.

He led her, without saying anything yet, down the hall and the stairs until they reached the front door.

Kelly hadn't said anything, simply glad that he had finally allowed some kind of contact, before she found herself next to their door. That fact alone worried her all over again.

He was actually leaving?

"Peter what..." she said trying to suppress her emotions. The blonde woman couldn't finish her sentence this time as Peter put a gentle finger on her lips to tell her that it was his turn to talk.

"I'm sorry, baby" he said and his voice was beginning to quiver more and more with every Syllable that left his mouth.

She tried to say something against his fingertip but he shook his head, again stopping her from saying anything.

"I need to go away for some days" he said quietly and she could tell that he regretted what he was telling her.

That thought, however, didn't change the message that slowly reached her brain. Peter was leaving. She wasn't invited to come along with him. He was sad, upset, desperate even.

She couldn't comfort him, love him, safe him, this time.

A few tears slipped from her eyelids when she realised that she wouldn't get to see him for only god knows how long and that she couldn't change his mind about it.

Peter had slowly recomposed himself, knowing that he needed to do this for himself and his family and even for Kelly's future more than anything.

Peter smiled lightly through his tears, using his thumbs to wipe away the tearstains that had found their home on his girlfriend's soft cheeks.

"I..." he started but had to stop when he felt a new lump in his throat that made it difficult for him to speak.

"I need you to do something for me before I leave" he said and Kelly had nodded before her mind had even registered what he was asking of her.

He wanted her to book the next flight from Los Angeles to New York City, one way.

She didn't know what hurt her more. That he didn't even ask her if it would be okay. Or the fact that he made it clear that he didn't want her to go with him. Or that it was New York which was way further away than she had hoped it would be. Or that he didn't only leave her, but also made her buy his freakin' ticket for him. Or that he had muttered the word "One way" at the end of his sentence. One way- that meant he wasn't planning to be back at a certain time.

It meant that he could stay away for longer than she was able to wait for him.

Kelly stood in the hallway of their house, shocked, motionless and deeply sad. He had left only a moment before, pressed his lips hard against hers, whispered another few "I'm sorry"s in her blonde locks and then he had dropped her hand, taken the suitcase, smiled one last time at her though his teary eyes and then... he had left.

Actually left. With no further explanation. Only the information for his blackberry so she knew where to send the flight information to.

She wasn't stupid. She knew that he must've spoken to his kids after their conversation and that's why he wanted to go to New York where they currently lived with their mother. She also knew that if he didn't want her to come along that he either didn't trust her enough to think she could tackle that serious problem with him or that he was upset because his kids had said something about her that she shouldn't know about which only confirmed her worst fears: that she was the reason for their hurting.

Kelly moved like a robot from then on.

Mission: Book 1 one-way flight from L.A. to NY. One adult, non-smoker. First class.

She stepped into his office with empty eyes, started his laptop, opened his email-account, wrote down his code for the account he needed for the online-booking, logging in in his name, booking his flight, and screaming his fuckin' name into the cold air of the room until her voice broke and she started crying.

Peter had felt guilty when he packed his suitcase without answering any of her well deserved questions, yes. He had felt guilty when he asked her to book a flight for him and when he was even cold enough to tell her he wanted it one-way, yes. But he had never felt so much guilt in his entire life, not even when he told Paula he was seeing someone else, when he made her cry because of something she was innocent of.

His glassy eyes looked out of the cab's window after he had helped the driver loading his suitcase into the trunk. He wondered what was going to happen now.

His decision to go and see his kids had been so spontaneous, he hadn't thought the least bit about the consequences. He didn't even know what he would say once he arrived there.

All he really needed right now was Kelly telling him that it would be okay and that his kids would understand sooner or later. But he couldn't have her. Couldn't tell her that his OWN daughter had called him a lying bastard and his love a whore that tore their family apart.

A new set of tears went right to his ears when the short conversation replayed over and over in his head.

"Hello?"

"Hey, It's me"

"Dad? HOW ... HOW DARE YOU TO CALL ME!"

"Sweetheart please let me..."

"STOP CALLING ME! JUST BE HAPPY WITH YOUR SLUT!"

"please let me explai..."

"WHY WOULD I? YOU...YOU ARE A LYING BASTARD! You left us."

Peter tried to wipe away the fresh tears, but he could still hear his daughter crying on the other side of the phone. He had made his baby cry because he had only thought about himself.

It wasn't Kelly's fault that his kids hated him now, that they feel abandoned, like they don't have a family anymore.

It was his.

After Kelly had left the study with red rimmed eyes, she made her way to the sofa where she attempted to distract herself from what had happened by watching an old black-and-white movie. Before long, she fell into a restless sleep.

It was when he saw the green letters next to the words " NEW YORK CITY AA4943 " that said "BOARDING" that he was about to leave the airport and go back home to Kelly for the third time since he left the house.

As he watched all the people getting up from their seats to go through the last check, he wondered if what he was doing was actually really protecting Kelly from hurting. If it was the other way around, wouldn't he rather know the cruel details and be there to take on the problem with her instead of sitting home alone and worrying?

His brain hadn't even registered the answer before he had already dialled the number he knew so well.

Knowing that he wanted only one thing right now, Peter wanted her to pick up and forgive him for his incredible stupidity.

He got more and more nervous when he watched one person after the other getting on the plane in front of him and she was still not picking up.

Cold sweat made it's way down his back when the idea entered his mind that she might have seen the Caller ID and didn't want to talk to him.

Would a moment of pure thoughtlessness be enough to make her leave him?

Before he could surrender, a voice so soft that he could barely hear it answered the phone.

"Hello" a sleepy whisper came and the corners of his mouth slowly twitched. She was probably the most adorable person in this world.

(Of course there were several people he said that about…like his daughter. His daughter.)

"Kel, it's me, honey" he whispered equally softly. Maybe it was for the need of privacy or because he was still embarrassed because of his earlier behaviour.

"Peter. You okay" she answered and he was glad that her voice stayed as warm as ever. She seemed still sincerely concerned about him.

"Yeah I am fine. Darling, listen, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier" he started and realised he had to hurry up when he heard one of the airline assistants calling "Gate closes in 5 Minutes".

Kelly said nothing to this, still being well too shocked about what had happened between them lying together on the sofa and them sharing a tearful goodbye.

So instead Peter tried to move the conversation forward.

"Baby, I don't have much time to explain things but I want you to book a flight to New York tomorrow and come after me" he said it so quickly that he wondered if she understood what he was saying. He was just so nervous she would refuse.

Kelly's mouth opened slightly, about to say something but he had done it again: Left her speechless.

When Peter listened to her breathing on the other side of the phone, he thought it was better than her screaming at him if he was bloody insane.

"Please trust me on this one, Baby. I'll pick you up at the airport tomorrow. I love you"

Kelly wasn't sure if she should be mad at him for making her jump about or be relieved because he had obviously thought she was worth enough to come to New York with him after all.

For the sake of the both of them, she decided on the latter.

Deciding that she had to wake until tomorrow to ask him everything else she wanted to know, she moved off the couch and back into his study to book the second flight for the day, feeling a lot happier than before indeed.

Meanwhile Peter was getting on the plane when his phone rang.

Surprised, he pulled out the vibrating device and smiled apologetically at the assistant who was about to check his passport.

"Gallagher"

"Hey Peter, it's Paula"

If Paula was mad at him for leaving that kind of message after weeks of not being in contact at all, she didn't show it.

"Hey, thanks for getting back to me"

"No worries, what's going on?"

"Well, I, um… actually wanted to talk to the kids but I can do that later"

"Later, as in, you'll call them back yourself?"

Peter took a deep breath wondering what Paula would say to his plans. When it came to her kids she was the most overprotective person in the world.

"No I'm about to get on the plane to fly to New York, I'd like to talk to the kids in person after…everything that's happened"

Again, if Paula was mad at him for not calling first, she didn't show it.

Peter was about to explain what had happened earlier so she'd understand why he was doing it now when the assistant next to him pointed angrily to his watch, telling him that he needed to get on that plane now or he would have to wait 3 hours for the next one.

"Um Paula, I'm sorry but I gotta go, I'll call you after I landed alright?"

He didn't give her enough time to respond before he hung up and finally took his seat on the plane.

Peter rubbed his eyes tiredly as he sat in the cab on his way to one of his New Yorker apartments. Jet lag was a bitch.

He was still nervous, not knowing how his kids and especially his 16-year-old would react at him standing in front of the door.

Deciding that he still had at least 10 minutes he decided to call Kelly. He already missed her.

She picked up after the third ring, sounding a lot less tired and sad than the last time he talked to her which told him that he had made the right decision by including her in everything.

"Hey baby, it's me"  
"Hey, I assume you've landed"

"Yeah, I'm already on the way to Paula's apartment. How are you doing? Have you booked your flight?"

"I'm good and yes, I have. I'll probably arrive at 4pm tomorrow afternoon"

Peter smiled and she could feel it on the other side of the phone which made her smile slightly as well.

"Honey, I just want you to know that…"

"Don't worry. We'll talk about everything tomorrow alright?" Kelly interrupted another of his apologies. She didn't want to put another burden on his shoulders when he was already nervous about talking to his family for the first time after weeks.

"I love you" he whispered, admiring how she always knew immediately what he needed to feel better.

"I love you" she said back quickly and wondered since when it was a routine for her to repeat those words after he said them- not that she was complaining. She probably would never get tired of those three words when they came from him.

After the phone call with Kelly, Peter felt more motivated to try to solve the problem with his family. He knew now that even if it didn't go the way he wanted, he'd have Kelly there to comfort him. And if it didn't go that bad, he could maybe even introduce his love to two of the other people he loved most in the world. But that would be to see later.

Peter stood in front of the apartment twiddling his thumbs nervously, when he heard noises from inside. It sounded like someone crying.

He looked up surprised hoping that it wasn't anything serious. When he realised it was Kathryn, he swallowed deeply knowing that it was likely that she was upset because of his earlier phone call.

Why didn't he talk to Paula first so she could prepare Kathryn for a direct confrontation with him?

If a phone call shocked and upset her, what would him standing right in front of her do to her?

Even if he was disappointed by his kids reaction and what they had said about him and Kelly in public, it was his fault that they didn't know better.

He should've tried to have a conversation with them a long time ago.

As he was lost in thoughts he didn't hear his child screaming "FINE! I WILL" before the door he was looking at, deep in thought, swung open in one swift movement and the figure of his "little girl" was exposed.

He didn't know if the look on his face matched the shocked one on his daughter's face but he sure as hell felt the way she looked.

Before he could try to read her widened eyes or the gasp that left her mouth, Kathryn turned quickly back around and ran back into the apartment. When his eyes followed her path, he stood face to face with his other child. So it must've been a fight between Jamie and Kathryn he had witnessed only seconds earlier.

"Hey kid" he whispered when he slowly stepped into the apartment. Jamie didn't look half as shocked or upset as Kathryn which gave him enough confidence to start a conversation with him.

Jamie looked to the floor for a few seconds and let his father wrap his arms around him when he was close enough.

They had always had a good relationship and even if it had hurt Jamie to see his mother so sad and that his father hadn't told him immediately about his feeling, that he knew, in the end, he only did it to protect his sister and him.

His own arms slowly enveloped his dad in a tight hug, trying desperately to swallow the lump that made it difficult for him to breathe.

After the two men who were so alike pulled away from each other, both tried to suppress their emotions.

"Missed ya" Jamie said when he looked slowly back into his father's eyes and Peter had never been so happy to hear his son's voice before.

Peter's hand went to his arms, grabbing them tightly and showing him that he felt the same way.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo, I should've come here so much earlier" he said hoping his voice wasn't as unsteady as it felt to him.

"I understand, you were busy" Jamie replied thought Peter could tell that he was simply trying to be strong for him. He realised how much energy Jamie must've wasted to defend him to his sister when he left them and he felt a sting in his heart.

He had tried to call the both of them several times but except for some short phone calls with Jamie, they hadn't had a lot of contact at all.

"A father should never be too busy to see his children regularly" Peter said and swallowed deeply while Jamie simply nodded shortly.

"You here to talk to mum?" Jamie asked and Peter shook his head.

"I will talk to your mum, but I'm hear to make things right with you and Katie"

Jamie nodded again and Peter wondered when his little boy had become a man. Probably only another thing he had missed in his child's life since his marriage had started to fall apart.

Peter was about to lead his son to his daughter's room where she'd probably found refuge in when he stopped her.

"Dad, you should know that Kathryn doesn't see this whole thing the way I do"

"I know son, I know"

"You hurt her" Jamie added and Peter looked down, some what embarrassed.

Peter decided not to knock, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer or one he preferred to avoid.

He stepped into the room and immediately spotted her sitting on the sofa, her face turned away from him.

"Sweetie, we need to talk" he simply stated before he got closer to the couch.

When he had almost reached the sofa, he watched Kathryn quickly getting up and facing his with a look that made it difficult for him not to wince in pain. It felt like she had slapped him. And he knew he deserved it.

"We need to talk, DAD ? Well then why don't you tell me why Jamie and I haven't seen you for MONTHS! Tell me why you left us, and MOM, for a cheap whore! TELL ME WHY YOU NEED TO TALK ALL OF A SUDDEN! YOU SCARED THAT WE COULD RUIN YOUR FUCKIN' -IMAGE IN THE NEWS!!!!!!" she screamed at him and Peter was more than shocked to hear those words out of his little girl's mouth.

She might be 16 and she might have always been a little closer to her mum than him, especially since she was in her teens, but that didn't mean that she had the right to talk to her father like that.

"KATHRYN ANNE GALLAGHER, don't talk to me that way, understood?" Peter said in the calmest tone he could muster.

He watched more tears trickle down his daughter's cheek before she whispered "fuck off".

Peter wondered what had been done to make her this angry. It broke his heart to see her like this.

Before she could fight him, he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

He surprised her and she tried with all her might to slam her fists into his chest so he'd back off.

"I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU . I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU" she screamed, still in tears as her small fists kept colliding with his strong body.

When she realised he was only holding her tighter and tighter, her voice got quieter and quieter and her cries louder.

"I HATE YOU, you stupid asshole" she cried and Peter's eyes had long started to water as he held his crying daughter in his arms and started rocking her back and forth.

By the time the first insulting words had left his sister's lips, Jamie had found himself in the door frame of her room, watching the scene of his father and sister in front of him.

When he realised that Kathryn was slowly calming down, he joined the tight hug and whispered a few chosen words to his sister.

"You left us" the small girl between the two tall Gallagher-men whispered but her voice had lost all the anger, and left was the confusion and hurt.

"I am sorry baby, I'm sorry" Peter whispered into her brown locks, pressing a few kisses to her forehead.

"I didn't mean to and I will never, ever leave you and your brother again. You mean everything to me" he said as Kathryn's sobs slowly faded away until Peter released her from her grasp and she looked back up into his eyes.

"You hurt us, daddy" she told him and Peter felt all the guilt he had been trying to suppress since he realised that he was in love with Kelly, come crashing back into his body.

He closed his eyes, a few tears escaping from his eyelids when he realised that everything his kids had said to him in the newspaper was well deserved. That everything they had said about his relationship with Kelly was in their eyes right because they didn't know better.

Kathryn, how did you feel when your mother told you that your dad would leave the family.

Gallagher: I was so mad. I could only think "Who is this whore who took away my father".

I just wanted to scream at my dad for his stupidity, but I guess he is only like all the other jerks after all.

Different sources claim that his new flame is the Canadian actress Kelly Rowan, one of his ex-colleagues. Have you met her?

Gallagher: Yeah and I can't believe that my brother and I were stupid enough to think she was a nice person. She took away our happiness without a second thought. To me she is nothing more than a thoughtless slut.

You seem very disappointed in everyone. May I ask you what your mother says to this? She must be very upset

Gallagher: Mum hasn't said a lot about all of this. She is just too much of a nice person. I don't know how she could even let him leave just like that. She even forgave that bitch. I would've killed her

Late that night, after Peter had a quick chat with Paula and told her that he wanted to see the kids now at least every second weekend and that he hoped that she'd support the long-distance relationship, he lay on the guest couch and wondered what would happen tomorrow. Kelly would arrive in a few hours and his kids had only just started trusting him again; he didn't want to ruin that again.

Would they refuse to talk to her, hate him for even asking her to come? On the other side… Jamie was more understanding than he could've hoped for… and Kathryn had told him after she'd heard the whole story that she was sorry for what she'd said. To him and to the press.

Maybe they needed to make peace with the situation and meet Kelly to realise that his new girlfriend wasn't a horrible person who tried to destroy their family but a nice, loving woman who could also become a good friend to them.

The next day Peter left early to meet Kelly at the airport. He had had a very enjoying breakfast with his two kids and it almost felt like the last few months never existed. Of course he still didn't know what to do about Kelly…should he give her the other apartment and avoid any confrontation or bring her back to the apartment and have her meet his kids?

He knew that he'd either disappoint Kelly by telling her that he thought that his kids weren't ready to meet her or shock his kids by introducing the person to them that was the main reason why he left the family. Of course they seemed now more at ease with the situation and understood that Paula and he were well over before he and Kelly officially got together.

Banning another upcoming debate from his thoughts, he decided to concentrate on driving the rental car Paula was nice enough to order for him.

When he saw the airport approaching from the distance, he wondered if Kelly was still a little, well, mad at him for the way he acted the other day. He hoped not.

Once he reached the airport he reread the text his other half had sent him this morning with her flight details and then made his way to the gate she was supposed to arrive at.

Peter found himself checking his watch every minute, desperate to have the blonde angel back in his arms. He couldn't believe that he had been daft enough to think he could just leave and spend several days, weeks apart from her to sort things out on his own.

It concerned her as much as him and she had the right to know what was going on.

When he was almost hypnotized by the small green spot that kept bouncing from the left to the right side and then up and down which told him that Kelly's plane had already landed, he turned his head away before he went completely crazy.

Sighing he went back to the crowd of people who were also waiting for a beloved friend, relative or partner to arrive. Before he had properly fought his way through the many people, his eyes locked with hers. She must've been one of the first ones to get off the plane and he liked to think it was because she couldn't wait to see him either.

She carried a small red suitcase with her and she looked….well she looked beautiful as ever though there were small purple circles underlining her eyes and he had to think about his own great jet lag experience.

Shaking the thoughts of Kelly and her beauty out of her head, he gently pushed away the people to his left and right to get to her as soon as possible.

Meanwhile Kelly also walked towards him being glad to finally be off the plane.

When they finally stood facing the other, both had so much to say although nothing left their mouth.

Peter was the first to take action as his hand closed around hers and took the suitcase from her to carry it to the car. His other arm wrapped around her tiny waist and pulled her against him, kissing her gently on the lips. He neither wanted to push his luck nor have everyone around them looking at them. Since they had been regularly in the magazines and on TV for the last couple of weeks, he was sure that some of the people around them would recognize them eventually.

After pulling apart, they smiled at each other and Peter's heart leapt into his throat being not only overly happy that she was there in New York with him, but also that her love was enough to forgive him his crazy outburst.

"I'm so glad you're here" he whispered into her ear as he began leading her to his car by wrapping his arm even tighter around her small body and nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"Me too" she smiled her Kelly-smile and leaned into him.

The short journey to the car didn't take long since Peter, and supposedly also Kelly, were desperate to have some privacy.

He loaded her bags into the trunk and then followed her when she made her way to the passenger side of the vehicle.

Peter surprised her when he put his hands on her hips and made her spin around to face her instead of opening the car.

Kelly smiled slightly at him when he pressed her gently against the door and leaned into her to give her a prolonged kiss. She enjoyed his embrace and kissed him back equally passionately, having missed him and his closeness as well.

When they became more and more breathless and Peter's hands had lost their position on her hips, rubbing them gently, and went instead slowly upwards to feel more of her, Kelly pulled apart, stopping anything from happening they couldn't finish anyway.

Pressing her lips a few more times to his, she then stroked with one of her fingers over his soft full lips and took away the lipstick her lips had passed onto his on the way.

He looked adoringly at her, not wanting to move but knowing there were more serious things on the agenda for them today.

Turning a little bit more serious again, Peter gave her a past peck on the lips before he moved to his side of the car and opened it.

Once inside, he started the engine and explained to her on the way what had happened, including the ugly truth about what his daughter had said about them. He felt like she needed to know if they wanted to move on together. Kelly had seemed a little quieter but she squeezed his hand every time he asked her if she was okay. Of course she wasn't thrilled about his kids having such an impression of them, or her, but she wasn't stupid. She knew the way she was as a teenager and how she reacted when her mother told her her dad would leave them. She was heartbroken and ready to kill anyone who could've made him leave. So how on earth would this situation be any different for Peter's kids?

Peter's smile pulled her out of her thoughts and when he asked her if she thought she and his kids were ready to meet or if they should wait a little while longer, she knew the answer to the question.

Yes.

They need to meet sooner or later and the sooner his kids knew she wasn't the horrible monster their minds had made up, the sooner they could start on getting all those problems out the way.

She would try to stay calm, give them time to trust her and answer all the questions they had because she hoped that, this way, they could have a normal relationship with each other some day.

Even if she hadn't met his kids, if they were Peter's, she knew she would love them anyway and she also knew that she would try everything for them to like and accept her- because it would be important for Peter.

Peter decided on trusting Kelly on the decision and made his way to Paula's apartment so his kids would get to meet the love of his life.

He kissed Kelly's hand gently, thanking her again for being there and being here.

When they arrived in the parking garage next to the apartment, he handed the key to an employee and helped Kelly out of the car where he used the opportunity to kiss her again.

They looked at each other and Peter could practically feel her nervousness, though she nodded when he asked for the last time if she was sure she wanted this.

Walking hand in hand up the stairs, the couple leaned in close and Peter dropped several kisses on her forehead, trying to sooth her and himself.

The walk didn't take long enough for Kelly as her brain was desperately trying to make up a speech for his kids. When Peter's steps came to a stop and she stood next to him, four eyes locking, she realised that she had to simply be spontaneous.

"Just be yourself and they'll love you" Peter whispered reassuring to her and Kelly smiled awkwardly, not being able to believe him right now.

He mouthed an "I love you" to her before he knocked three times at the door.

"Oh god" Kelly thought wondering how she had gotten in this situation. She had definitely hoped it would under different circumstances but what had she thought? That they'd bake cookies together after his kids had insulted them in the newspaper?

Before the negative thoughts could get a hold of her mind again, Kelly felt Peter squeezing her hand tightly as the door in front of them swung open.

----------

"Honey, I want you and Jamie to meet somebody"

**Okidoki, so that's it! What do you think? Dic you enjoy it/ do you want us to continue? We still have a lot of surprises in store for you....if you wanna know what happens next??**

**(Ps: Dont you just looove cliffhangers? ;-)))**

**Love xx**

**Ally & Jen (AlJen hehe)**


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